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TUFTS   UNIVERSITY   LIBRARIES 


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VVtebstef  Famity  Ubraiy  (^  Vetennacy  Medfone 

Cumnwi^  S<^K)ol  of  Vetermary  Mecfctne  2« 
Tufts  University 

200  Westbofo  Road 
North  Grafton,  MA  01536 


FIRST    IN    WAR.     FIRST    IX     PEACE    AND    FIRST    IN    THE    HEARTS     OF     OUR 

COUNTRYMEN. 


A  HISTORY  OF 

THE 

PERCHERON  HORSE 


Including  hitherto  unpublished  data  concerning- 
the  origin  and  development  of  the  modern  type  of 
heavy  draft,  drawn  from  authentic  documents, 
records  and  manuscripts  in  the  national  archives 
of  the  French  Government,  together  with  a  detailed 
account  of  the  introduction  and  dissemination 
of  the  breed  throughout  the  United  States, 
to  which  is  appended  a  symposium  reflecting  the 
vievvs  of  leading  contemporary  importers  and 
breeders  touching  the  selection,  feeding  and  general 
management  of  stallions,  brood    mares    and   foals. 


Compiled  under  the  personal  direction  of 

ALVIN  HOWARD  SANDERS,  D.AGR,  LL.D. 

Editor  "The  Breeder's   Gazette,"  author  of   "Shorthorn    Cattle," 
"At  the  Sign  of  the  Stock  Yard  Inn"  and  "The  Story  of  the  Herefords." 


In  collaboration  with 

WAYNE   DINSMORE,  M.  S.  A. 

Secretary    of    the    Percheron    Society   of    America. 


CHICAGO 
BREEDER'S    GAZETTE    PRINT 


? 


COPYRIGHT.  1917, 

SANDERS   PUBLISHING  CO. 

All  rig-hts  reserved. 


PUBLISHER'S  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

This  volume  has  been  compiled  in  response  to  a  wide- 
spread demand  for  information  touching  the  origin, 
evolution,  development  and  distribution  of  the  modern 
heavy  draft  type  of  Percheron  horses.  It  was  under- 
taken originally  by  Mr.  Sanders  as  individual  research 
work  along  lines  similar  to  his  well-known  histories  of 
the  Shorthorn  and  Hereford  breeds  of  cattle,  but  press 
of  work  incidental  to  the  conduct  of  "The  Breeder's 
Gazette"  made  it  necessary  that  assistance  be  secured 
in  tracing  the  long  story  beginning  Avith  the  early  days 
in  the  Perche,  and  ending  with  the  Chicago  International 
Live  Stock  Exposition  of  1916. 

A  determined  effort  has  been  made  to  throw  new  light 
upon  the  foundation  history  of  the  type  in  the  Perche 
itself.  Mr.  John  Ashton,  Continental  European  corres- 
pondent of  ''The  Breeder's  Gazette,"  was  commis- 
sioned b}^  ]\Ir.  Sanders  to  search  French  agricultural 
literature  from  the  earliest  periods  for  references  to  the 
Percheron  horse,  and  if  possible  secure  permission  from 
the  French  authorities  to  examine  all  books,  records  and 
documents  contained  in  the  Government  archives  at 
Paris,  including  the  official  entries  detailing  the  registra- 
tion and  inspection  of  stallions  bought  for  the  Govern- 
ment stud  at  le  Pin,  together  with  lists  of  stallions  offici- 
ally approved  and  subsidized  by  the  Government  prior  to 
the  Stud  Book  period  for  service  in  the  region  in  Avhieh 
the  modern  Percheron  was  evolved. 

Fortunately  this  extensive  and  painstaking  inquiry  met 

3 


4  publisher's  announcement 

with  the  hearty  cooperation  of  French  librarians  and  the 
Ministry  of  Agriculture,  every  facility  being  extended, 
even  to  the  point  of  permission  to  photograj^h  original 
entries  of  great  historical  importance.  The  condensed 
results  of  months  of  patient  investigation  along  this  line 
are  presented  in  this  volume;  and  it  is  confidently  be- 
lieved that  this  portion  of  the  work  constitutes  one  of  the 
most  valuable  contributions  made  in  many  years  to  the 
history  of  any  of  the  existing  improved  breeds  of  live 
stock.  It  is  demonstrated  that  the  Percheron  horse  has 
existed  as  a  distinct  type  from  very  ancient  times,  and 
that  much  that  has  been  accepted — on  insufficient  evi- 
dence— in  the  past  relating  to  the  development  of  the 
breed  since  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  must 
now  be  discarded  as  mere  tradition. 

The  facts,  brought  to  light  here  for  the  first  time,  seem 
to  contradict  flatly  the  part  so  long  alleged  to  have  been 
played  by  Arabian  blood  in  the  production  of  the  latter- 
day  Percheron;  and  while  this  diligent  study  of  old 
records — apparently  never  heretofore  examined  by  those 
assuming  to  write  early  Percheron  history — may  be  re- 
garded as  destructive  to  that  extent  in  its  operation,  the 
student  will  not  fail  to  note  that  in  place  of  what  now 
goes  by  the  board  as  unsubstantiated  there  is  supplied  a 
complete,  constructive,  tangible,  authentic  official  set  of 
facts  that  place  underneath  the  foundations  of  the  Perche- 
ron Stud  Book  of  France  the  solid  rock  of  verified  Gov- 
ernment records,  indisputable  and  convincing.  If  any 
doubt  has  heretofore  existed  as  to  when,  where  and  by 
whom  the  increase  in  weight  of  the  Percheron  horse  was 
undertaken,  such  questions  need  no  longer  be  raised. 

This  portion  of  the  story  should  be  of  absorbing  interest 
to  all  students  of  the  develoi)ment  of  Percheron  types,  and 
represents  a  sincere  and  exhaustive  effort  to  get  at  the 


PUBLISHER'S    ANNOUNCEMENT 


truth  regardless  of  what  the  facts  might  show.  Breeders 
and  owners  of  Percheron  horses  not  only  in  America,  but 
in  France  as  well,  will  no  doubt  welcome  the  results  of 
this  study. 

Mr.  Sanders'  own  personal  recollections  of  the  Ameri- 
can Percheron  trade  go  back  to  his  bo^'hood  days  on  an 
Iowa  farm^  his  father,  the  late  James  H.  Sanders,  having 
been  one  of  the  earliest  introducers  of  the  blood  in  the 
trans-Mississippi  country,  and  subsequently  compiling  the 
initial  volumes  of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of  America. 
In  the  work  of  gathering  material  for  the  early  American 
period  the  aid  of  the  late  James  H.  S.  Johnstone, 
author  of  "The  Horse  Book",  w^as  asked  and  obtained, 
many  interesting  facts  relating  to  the  pioneer  breeders, 
importers  and  equine  celebrities  of  the  old  days  being 
developed  as  a  result  of  extended  traveling  in  various 
parts  of  the  United  States. 

As  the  present  day  was  approached  the  services  of  Mr. 
Wayne  Dinsmore,  Secretary  of  the  Percheron  Society  of 
America,  were  invoked,  and  with  the  permission  of  the 
directors  of  that  organization  he  utilized  the  records 
and  the  facilities  of  his  office  to  collect,  analyze  and 
arrange  a  great  mass  of  important  and  interesting  data 
detailing  the  wide  expansion  of  Percheron  breeding  in 
America  during  the  past  forty  years. 

It  will  of  course  be  understood  that  this  work  is  com- 
piled primarily  for  the  benefit  of  American  readers.  Con- 
sequently the  details  of  French  production  since  the 
establishment  of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of  France  in 
1883  have  not  been  extensively  discussed. 

The  authors  are  aware  that  their  work  is  by  no  means 
perfect.  Errors  of  omission  and  commission  are  bound  to 
creep  into  any  volume  of  this  sort,  involving  as  it  does 
explorations  in  new  fields,  and  the  handling  of  an  almost 


6  publisher's  announcement 

Bewildering  array  of  names  and  figures.  It  has  been  the 
intent  and  purpose  throughout,  however,  to  present  the 
facts  exactly  as  found ;  and  if  the  work  shall  be  regarded 
as  adding  somewhat  to  the  general  store  of  knowledge 
concerning  the  most  popular  draft  horse  type  in  North 
America,  the  compilers  and  publishers  will  be  pleased  and 
gratified. 


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FOUR  CYCLES  OF  PERCHERON  HISTORY. 


I  The  following  pen  picture  covering  four  distinct  periods  | 

I  in  the  evolution  of  the  breed  of  which  we  write,  present-  | 

I  ing  first  the  famous  French  "chargers"  of  the  middle  ages,  | 

I  their   successors   on   the  heavy   coaches   of   the   ante-rail-  | 

I  way  days,  the  demands  of  the  plow  for  a  weightier  type  j 

I  as  the  arts  of  peace  advanced,  and  now^  the  "ton  horse"  | 

I  of   modern    commerce    is    taken   from   the    sketch    of   the  | 

I  late  Mark  "\V.  Dunham,  written  by  Mr.  Sanders  and  pub-  | 

I  lished   last  year   in   his   book  "At   the  Sign  of  the   Stock  | 

I  Yard  Inn."     It  is  republished  here  by  request.  | 

I  "Under  a  gray  old  castle's  frowning  w^alls  a  drawbridge  j 

I  falls  across  the  moat.     The  trumpets  sound.     A  glittering  | 

I  cavalcade  emerges.     Pennons  gay  and  guidons  flutter  in  | 

I  the  breeze.     Steel  and  silver — corselet,  hilt  and  morion^ —  | 

I  glisten   in  the  morning  sun,   and   noble   chargers,  mostly  | 

I  white   and    gray,   prance    proudly,    bearing    out   into    the  | 

I  medieval  world  brave  belted  knights  and  their  retainers  | 

I  faring  forth  to  meet  what  ere  betides.  | 

j  "Generations    pass:     in    the    far    distance    the    rhyth-  | 

I  mic   beating  of  heavy  hurrying  hoofs  I      It   is  a  highw^ay  | 

I  builded   by   the   kings   of  France.     To   the   sound   of  the  | 

I  horn  and  the  sharp  note  of  the  lash,  the  great  diligence  | 

I  bearing  the  royal  mails  and  laden  deep  with  passengers  | 

I  and  their  gear  comes  into  view.     A  rush,  a  roar  of  wheels  | 

I  and  the  great  freighted  coach  is  gone.  | 

I  "Agriculture    calls:     down    the    long    furrows    see    the  | 

I  shining    plowshares    deeply    driven.      The    mellow    earth  | 

I  awakens,   and   lo,   the  stored   up   riches  of  a  fertile  field  | 

I  await  the  seed.     Long  is  the  journey  and   repeated   oft.  | 

I  From  'early  morn  to  dewy  eve'  the  living  shuttles  travel,  | 

I  back    and    forth;    but    weight    that    wearies    not    is    har-  | 

I  nessed.  | 

I  "And  yet  again,  last  scene  of  all:   a  busy  modern  city  | 

I  street.     Huge  vans  and  trucks  are  rumbling  ever  on  the  | 

j  granite  blocks.     Big  grays  and  blacks  march  proudly  to  | 

I  the    music    of    a    nation's    commerce.      Power,    patience,  | 

I  dignity   personified.      Glory  be   to  men   who   can   produce  | 

I  such  prodigies!"  | 

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TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  I — THE   ANCIENT   PROVINCE    OF    THE    PERCHE. 

Topography  of  the  District — Geological  Formation — Water 
Courses — Climatic  Conditions — Ancient  History — Rotrou 
and  the  Counts  of  The  Perche — Modern  Records  Begin — 
Live  Stock  Husbandry  Important — Under  the  "Grand 
Monarque" — Tlie  Eighteenth  Century — Long  Famous  for 
Its  Horses — A  People  Devoted  to  Their  Own — The 
Perche  of  Today 17-33 

CHAPTER  II — PERCHERON  PROTOTYPES. 

Some  of  the  Fairy  Tales — The  Saracenic  Rout — Mounts  of 
the  Crusaders — War  Horses  of  the  Middle  Ages — The 
Probable  Foundation — Normandy  Invades  The  Perche — 
Whence  the  Percheron? — The  Arabian  Tradition — An 
Historic  Discussion — "The  Legendary  Kadischi" — Mod- 
ern Arab  Crossing  Not  Mentioned — Is  the  Percheron  a 
Primitive  Type? 34-54 

CHAPTER    III— THE    RENAISSANCE    FOLLOWING    THE 

REVOLUTION. 

Delestang  and  His  History — Lamagdelaine's  Prizes — A 
Draft  Type  at  Montdoubleau — Unverified  Tradition  Ex- 
ploded— Godolphin  an  English  Saddler — Gallipoly  a 
Small  Turkish  Saddle  Horse — Error  Easily  Perpetuated 
— Jean-le-Blanc — The  Evidence  Summarized — The  Breed 
"Modifies  Itself" — M.  Fardouet  Was  Right — The  Gov- 
ernment Stud — First  Draft  Stallions  at  the  Haras  du 
Pin — Official  Notes — Directors   and   Inspectors   Disagree     55-Sl 

CHAPTER   IV— EVOLUTION   FROM   WITHIN. 

Prizes  Stimulate  Effort — The  National  Archives  in  Evi- 
dence— First  Approved  Stallions  Near  Nogent — Grand 
Pierre,  Bijou  and  Le  Coq — Liberally  Patronized — Big 
Horses  in  Service — Le  Coq  Goes  to  Belgium — More  Big' 
Gray  Horses — Others  in  Nogent  District — In  the  De- 
partment of  Orne — Service  for  12  Francs — At  INIort- 
ag-ne  in  the  Early  '30's — In  La  Sarthe — Loir-et-Cher — 
A  Broad  Constructive  Policy  Continued — Outcrossing 
Exaggerated — As  to  Color — Passing  of  the  Diligence 
Type — Some  Conclusions 82-106 

CHAPTER  V— FIRST   FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA. 

Authentic  Records  Begin — Alexander's  Norman — First  Im- 
portation to  the  States — Ohio  Importations  of  1851 — 
Normandy,  or  Pleasant  Valley  Bill — A  Great  Career — 
The  Holman  Horse — Louis  Napoleon — Taken  to  Illinois 
— Acquired  by  the  Dillons — Maryland  Importation  of 
1853 — Rollin  Imported  in  1856 — Darby  Plains  Importa- 
tion of  1857 — Kentucky  Importation  of  1859 — Massachu- 
setts Importation  of  1864 — Gray  Duke — Eastern  Imports 
of  1866 — First  Direct  Importation  into  Illinois — Ohio  Ac- 
tive  in   1S67 107-137 


10  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    VI— THE    IMPORTING   RECORD   TO   1870. 

A  Profitable  Business — Activity  in  Ohio — The  Walters 
Percherons — Old  Success  Imported — M.  W.  Dunham  En- 
ters the  Business — Napoleon  Bonaparte — A  Lull  in  1869 
— Across  the  Continent — Good  Buying  for  Illinois — Duke 
de  Chartres  Brings  $4,000 — First  of  the  Blood  in  Wis- 
consin— Dillons'    Big-   St.    Laurent — Recapitulation 138-158 

CHAPTER    VII— MID-WEST    PIONEERS. 

Leaders  of  the  Period — Oaklawn  in  Front — Home  Breeding- 
Emphasized —  Some  Celebrities  Described  —  Dra-wing- 
from  the  Fountain  Head — The  Dillons — Ohio  Breeders 
of  the  '70's — The  East  and  the  Far  West — On  the  Pacific 
Coast — Dr.  W.  H.  Winter — Daniel  Dunham — Eli  Hodg- 
son— Stubblefield  Importations — Percheron  Breeding  in 
Other  States — James  H.  Sanders — A  Campaign  of  Edu- 
cation— Foundation  of  the  Stud  Book — The  Peoria  Con- 
vention of  1878    159-187 

CHAPTER  Aail— THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED. 

Practical  Promotive  Work — More  Pre-Stud  Book  Records — 
M.  Cheradame — Toulouse,  "The  Magnificent" — Chocolat 
— 'The  Ducoeurjolys — Pelletier — IMoisand — Jouset  and 
Mitau — Old  Records  Brought  to  Light — Fardouet  and 
Caget — Michel  Fardouet— Celestian  Caget — The  Chou- 
anards  and  La  Touche — The  Perriots — The  Tacheaus — 
Charles  Paul  Aveline — Credit  Due  These  Pioneers — 
Founding  of  the  Stud  Book — Meager  Data  at  First 
Available — The   Case   of  Jean-le-Blanc 188-232 

CHAPTER  IX— THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE  '80'S. 

Distribution  by  States — Oaklawn  Breeding  Operations — The 
Brilliant  Blood — The  Story  of  Old  Brilliant — Brilliant 
1271 — Prepotency  of  Brilliant  Blood — Developments  at 
Oakla-wn — Results  Despite  Difficulties — Great  ]\Iares  of 
Oakla-wn  Stud — Oakla-wn  Influence — Oakla-wn  Sales  of 
'SO's — Mr.  Dunham's  Influence — Ellwood  Green — Sires 
Used  by  Mr.  Ell-wood — Cheri  and  Seducteur — Mares  in 
Stud — Influence  on  Other  Studs — Noted  Sires  Sold — 
Summary  of  Ell-wood  Operations — Daniel  Dunham's 
Work — The  Dillons — Sires  Used — Dillons  in  the  Sho-w- 
ring— Mark   W.    Coad 233-270 

CHAPTER  X— OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD. 

Log  Cabin  Farm — Edge-wood  Farm — John  W.  Akin — Minne- 
sota Breeders — Leonard  Johnson — Founding  Maple 
Point  Stud — Leading  Sires  Used — The  Johnson  Mares — 
Sho-wyard  Record — Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Company 
— George  E.  Case — Wisconsin's  Leaders — Wauwatosa 
Farm — Kellogg  Stock  Farm — The  Kellogg  Stallions — 
Noted  Mares — Influences  on  Other  Studs — Reserve 
Forces  in  Illinois — Stetson  &  Sons — Mares  Owned  and 
Colts  Raised — The  Stetson  Sires — Valuable  Brood  Mares 
— 'Degen  Bros. — George  S.  Hanna — E.  Hodgson  &  Son — 
Ohio  Breeders — Jones  Bros. — Samuel  Kendeigh — M.  V. 
Bates — E,  J.  Condit — Iowa's  Percheron  Breeders — Iowa 
Breeders    of   the    'SO's — Maplehurst    Stock    Farm — J.    H. 


TABLE    OF    CONTENTS  11 

Barnett — Other  Breeders — Further  Consideration  of 
Illinois — Pre-eminence  of  McLean  Co.,  111. — In  Taze- 
well— In  LaSalle — Other  Minnesota  Breeders — Other 
Breeders  in  Wisconsin — Other  Michigan  Breeders — 
Other  Breeders  in  New  York — Percheron  Breeding  in 
Pennsylvania — Progress  in  Indiana — In  the  Sunflower 
State — In   Missouri — Other   States 271-337 

CHAPTER  XI— AN  ERA  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION. 

What  the  Figures  Show — Oaklawn  Farm — Brilliant — 'Other 
Oaklawn  Sires — Oaklawn  Mares  and  Colts — Oaklawn 
Sales  and  Leases — The  Great  Leader — Other  Illinois 
Breeders — New  Blood — Progress  in  Iowa — Lakewood 
Farm — Developments  in  Ohio — Pleasant  A^alley  Farm — 
Other  Ohio  Breeders — In  Minnesota — Belleview  Farm — 
Willard    &    Fuller — In    AVisconsin — In    Kansas 338-384 

CHAPTER  XII— THE    NEW    CENTURY    DAWNS    AUSPICIOUSLY. 

The  Actual  Increase — Pedigree  Publication  Suspended — New 
Association  Formed— Old  Records  Acquired — Influence 
of  Dealers  and  Importers — The  Development  by  States 
— In  Illinois — Important  Illinois  Dispersions — New 
Studs  Founded  in  Illinois — Progress  in  Iowa — Ohio's 
Contributions — Progress  in  Kansas — Progress  in  Minne- 
sota— The  Hoosier  Plorsemen — Wisconsin's  Workers — 
Work  in  Nebraska — North  Dakota's  Great  Range 
Project — Progress  in  South  Dakota — In  Other  States 
— Michigan — Missouri — Pennsylvania — Virginia — O.  E. 
Jordan — Selma  Farm — ^California — Colorado — Montana- 
Washington — New  York — Growth  of  the  Percheron  So- 
ciety of  America — A  Canadian  Association — Percheron 
Breeding  in   Canada 385-475 

CHAPTER  XIII— DISTRIBUTION  AND   STATISTICS   OF 
PRO*DUCTION    IN    THE    UNITED    STATES. 

Percherons  in  the  South — Horse  Stock  of  the  United  States 
— Percherons  the  Leading  Draft  Type- — -War  Exports — 
French  Embargo  on  Exports — American  Breeding 
Stimulated — Commercial  Market  for  Draft  Horses — 
Geldings  at  the  Show 476-508 

CHAPTER  XIV— SELECTION,  CARE  AXD  MANAGEMENT. 

Edmond  Perriot — James  M.  Fletcher — W.  E.  Prichard — E.  B. 
White — J.  L.  DeLancey — J.  O.  Singmaster — W.  S.  Dun- 
ham— J.  B.  McLaughlin — W.  S.  Corsa — A.  L.  Robison  & 
Son — Lee  Brothers — Dan  Augstin's  Story — U.  L.  Bur- 
dick — On  the  Northwestern  Range — Management  of 
Foals  and  Yearlings — Feeding  Alfalfa — Importance  of 
Soundness — Growing  Purebred  Perclieron  Fillies — Buy- 
ing. Feeding  and  Selling  Draft  Geldings — Permanent 
Marks   for   Percherons 509-588 

CHAPTER    XV— BLOODLINES    IN    THE    SHOWRING. 

The  Breeding  of  Leading  Winners — Breeding  of  Prizewin- 
ners at  French  Shows — Breeding  of  International  Prize- 
winners     589-602 


INDEX  TO  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


American    buyers    in    the    Percho, 

385. 
Amorita  61314,   587. 
Armour    six-horse    team,    5  05. 
Augstin,  D.,  381. 
Aveline,  Charles,  224. 
Aveline,   Charles,  residence  at  La- 

Touche,    228. 
Aveline,   Joseph,   colts   at   pastvire, 

102. 
Aveline,  Joseph,  232. 
Aveline,  Joseph,  farm  at  Dorceau, 

198. 
Aveline,  Louis,   224. 
Aveline,  Louis,  farm  at  La  Croch- 

etiere,   226. 
Avery,  Henry,  333. 
Ayres,  M.  L.,  363. 

Bamboucheur   (62018),   407. 

Bar   U   Ranch,    473. 

Beckett,  James  D.,  288. 

Bellenie    forest,    21. 

Bell,  Samuel,  467. 

Bell,  William,  467. 

Besigue   (19G02),  395. 

Big-elow,   Timothy  C.   116. 

Big-elow,  Timothy  L.,  116. 

Big  Jim,   499. 

Bignon,  A.,  farm  at  Aulnays,  192. 

Bonheur's  studies  of  Voltaire,  Ju- 
piter and  Confident,  246. 

Bonheur's  study  of  Brilliant  12  71, 
242. 

Boullay-Chaumard,   M.,    190. 

Bourdin,    E.,    230. 

Bowman,  T.  B.,  333. 

Branding  irons,  583. 

Briggs,  H.  A.,  260. 

Brilliant  1271  and  group  of  get, 
240. 

Burdick,  U.  L.,  497. 

Calypso   25017    (44577),   393. 
Carnot   G6666    (66666),   411. 
Castile  78956   (64553),  513. 


Chappels,  Anatole,  232. 

Chappels,  A.,   farm  at   La  Plessis, 

202. 
Chouanard,   Charles,   210. 
^Chouanard,    Charles,    farm    at    La 

Bretonnerie,  226. 
Chouanard,   Emile,    210. 
Chouanard,   Jules,   210. 
Chouanard,  Maurice,  210. 
Chouanard,   Maurice,   residence   at 

La  Roustiere.   194. 
Colegrove,  Arthur,   497. 
Coleman,   C.   R.,   315. 
Cook,  A.  W.,   315. 
Corsa,  W.  S..  415. 
Crouch,   G.   R.,    441. 
Crouch,    J.,    441. 
Curtiss,  Charles  F.,  415. 

Danforth,  William,  497. 
DeLancey,   J.    L.,   260. 
DeLancey,  T.  L.,  260. 
Delchester  Farms,   mares  in  hay- 
field,    509. 
Diligence,   110. 

Diligence  horses  of  1830,  17. 
Dillon,   Ellis,    136. 
Dillon,  Isaiah,  136. 
Dillon,   Levi,    136. 
Dorothy  B.  122455,  521. 
Dragon  52155    (63516),  425. 
Ducoeurjolj^  D.,  farm  of,  228. 
Ducoeurjoly,   Desire,   196. 
Dunham,  Daniel,  164. 
Dunham,  Mark  W.,  160. 
Dunham,  W.  S'.,  160. 

Ellwood,   I.    L.,    256. 
Ellwood,   W.    L.,    256. 
Erica    (68318),    407. 

Fair  Hope  117379,  577. 
Fardouet,  Alphonse,  72. 
Fardouet,   Michel,    72. 
Fardouet,    M.,    farm    at    Le    Bois 
Joly,   206. 


13 


14 


INDIOX    TO    ILLUSTRATIONS 


Feeding  colts,   rack  for,   5(57. 
Feuillard,  Ansbert,  196. 
Fletcher,  James  ]\L,   1  H  L 
Fullington,    Charles,    lliS. 
Fallington,  James,   12S. 

Galliiioly      entrx-      in      Governnieiit 

records,   H'A 
George  P.  S249G,  529. 
Georgiana    28(J22,     151. 
Girard,  Alphonse,   230. 
Godolphin     entry     in     Government 

records,  62. 
Government     certificate     of     1822, 

87. 
Gray   Billy,    118. 
Grenat   S0714    (71632),    553. 
Guy,   Henry,    126. 

Helen  Helix  97206,   521. 

Hamelin,  Adrien,  196. 

Haras  du  Pin,  chateau  and  court- 
yard, 76. 

Haras  du  Pin,  stallions  in  service, 
88. 

Harris,    Edward,    108. 

Hermine  10219S    (76134),  587. 

Hodgson,  Eli,  130. 

Hodgson,  M.  C,  130. 

Hodgson,  William,   130. 

Holbert,   A.    B.,   415. 

Horace  78S4,   359. 

Huisne,  pasture  on  the,   19. 

Humbert,   L.   H.,   415. 

Hurt,   C.   W.,    321. 

Hurt,  William,  321. 

Huston,  John,  3  81. 

Hysope,   573. 

Ildefonse  79307   (83004),  521. 
Imprecation  79304    (79214),  425. 
Indivise,      French      prize-winning 

mare,   480. 
Intime   87'219    (83153),   399. 
Ivan  10S146,   545. 

Jalap    S0583     (85614),    601. 
Jasmine  88573    (85983),   589. 
Joan    and    colt   Julie,    112. 
Joie  105878    (83942),  513. 
Johnson,   Leonard,    164. 
Jones,   C.   M.,   126. 
Jones,   Milton  E.,   321. 
Jones,   Thomas,   126. 


Keiser,  Charles,  495. 
Keiscr,   S.   I.,   495. 
Keota  Insight   107242,   577. 
Keota  Jalap   10G1S6,    54  5. 
Kontact   87277    (95804),   529. 

La  Belle   349S2,   451. 

Lactine   101472    (100912),    559. 

Lagos  99093    (102389),  589. 

LaFerte  5144,  347. 

LaFerte  Bernard — Place  Saint  Ju- 

lien,   55. 
Lane,  George,  471. 
Lee,    J.    H.,    333. 
Legitime  98978    (99389),  537. 
Louis   Napoleon,    120. 
Lycee  105934    (102746),  589. 

Mack,  499. 

Martin,  Erastus,  126. 

Mauldin,  James,  363. 

McCormick,   L.  J.,   288. 

McLaughlin,  J.  B.,  467. 

McMillan,  H.  G.,  389. 

Mortagne,  roadway  at,  55. 

Moulinet    (68017),   480. 

Moulin,    L.,    farm    at    La    Grand 

Champrond,  206. 
Moulin,  L.,  232. 

Nave,   A.   P.,   381. 

Nicodemus,    Ed,    4  67. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — army  officers 
inspecting  horse  stock  of  dis- 
trict, 58. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — C  h  a  t  e  a  u  de 
Saint  Jean,  21. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou,  market  day,  80. 

Nogent-le-R  o  t  r  o  u — Rue  de  la 
Charronnerie,     66. 

Nogent-le-Rotrou — 'Rue  Saint  Hil- 
aire,   66. 

North,  C.   M.,   333. 

Oakley,    Charles,    122. 
Orr,  W.  C,  3  63. 

Pabst,   Fred,    288. 

Palmer,  T  W.,   272. 

Paul  Potter's  "Great  Horse,"  3  6. 

Pellitier,  H.,  of  La  Bernuche,  Orne, 

92. 
Pelleray,  C,   196. 
Perche,  a  farm  home  in  the,   32. 


INDEX    TO    ILLUSTRATIONS 


15 


Perclie,   typical  village  in  the,   20. 

Perche,  mares  at  work  in  field,  S2. 

Perche,  scenes  in  the,  96. 

Perche,  mares  at  work  in  havlieUl, 
33S. 

Perche,  two-year-old  colts  at  Ed- 
mond  Perriot's,    344. 

Perche,  inap  showing  modern 
boundary  lines,   25. 

Perche,  two  snapshots  by  ^Ir.  San- 
ders  in   the,   220. 

Percheron  mare  and  colt  in  an 
Illinois   pasture,   359. 

Perriot,    Edmond,    212. 

Perriot,  Edmond,  chateau  of  La 
Ronce,  104. 

Perriot,  Ernest,  214. 

Perriot,   Jr.,   Ernest,    214. 

Perriot,  Jr.,  Ernest,  farm  and  res- 
idence  at  L' Archie,    194. 

Perriot.  Edmond,  farm  at  Chani- 
peaux,  216. 

Perriot,  Ernest,  residence  at  L" 
Orme,   218. 

Perriot,   Louis,    212. 

Perriot,  Louis,  residence  at  La 
Borde,     21 S. 

Phillips,  G.  W.,  495. 

Pink  24765    (47513),   399. 

Pink  Brilliante  57S97,  573. 

Pleasant   Valley   Bill,    114. 

Poindexter,  P.  H.,   363. 

Powerful  6670  (Bayard  7519  ) ,  347. 

Prichard,  W.  E.,  260. 

Rene,    Charles,    190. 
Richard,    E.,    farm    at    La    Gero- 
merie,   100. 


Rigot.    M.,    230. 
Roseland  87467,   537. 

Sanders,  James  Han'ey,   176. 
Seducteur   SS50    (70S7),    258. 
Selma  Farm,  mares  at  work,  461. 
Singmaster,    C.    F.,    315. 
Singma'ster,   J.   O.,    315. 
Slack,  Louis,   497. 
Stetson,    Ezra,    272. 
Stubblefield,  George  W.,   389. 
Stubblefield,    L.    F.,    381. 
Suzanne  (81567),  395. 

Tacheau,  A.,  breeding  farm  at  La 

Pellois,    198. 
Tacheau,   Auguste,   222. 
Tacheau,    Jr.,   A.,    residence   at    Le 

Burin,    200. 
Tacheau,   Jr.,   Augxiste,   222. 
Taylor,  Charles  R.,  321. 
Thibault,    M.,    232. 
Thibault,  M.,  farm  at  La  Bourdon- 

niere,    202. 
Tonnac      Villeneuve — director      of 

Haras,   74. 
Turquoise   110346,    559. 

Valle,  M.,  farm  of,   107. 
Vendome  116151,  553. 
Villette-Gate,    M.,    230. 

Walters,    W.    T.,    Percherons,    140, 

142,   144,   146,   148. 
Walters,   W.    T.,   13S. 
War   horses    of    the    Middle    Ages, 

38-40. 
White,  E.  B.,   4  71. 
Wilson,  J.  E.,  288. 


CHAPTER  I. 
THE  ANCIENT  PROVINCE  OF  THE  PERCHE. 

One  of  the  smallest  provinces  of  old  France,  the 
district  known  as  The  Perclie,  derived  its  name  from 
the  ancient  forest,  Perticus  Saltus,  which  originally 
covered  almost  the  entire  region.  Vestiges  of  this 
great  wooded  tract  exist  today  in  the  forests  of 
Belleme,  Reno  and  Du  Val.  What  is  now  known  as 
The  Perche  Forest  in  Normandy  was  also  once  a  part 
of  it.  During  the  time  of  the  Gauls  the  province  was 
too  thickly  wooded  to  permit  of  much  settlement. 
Some  time  about  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  century 
the  monks  are  said  to  have  made  clearings  in  the 
forests;  but  long  before  this  period  it  is  probable 
that  restricted  tracts  had  been  brought  under  culti- 
vation in  some  of  the  more  favored  valleys. 

Topography  of  the  District. — The  Perche  really 
comprises  a  region  lying  between  Normandy  on  the 
north  and  west,  Maine  on  the  southwest,  Vendome 
and  Dunois  on  the  south,  and  the  Beauce  country, 
the  so-called  granary  of  France,  on  the  east.  If 
viewed  from  an  aeroplane,  one  would  observe  that 
the  relatively  prominent  relief  of  the  district,  com- 
pared with  the  level  countries  that  surround  it,  helps 
to  solve  the  problem  of  how  the  Percheron  breed 
came   to   be   evolved  within   such   a   comparatively 

17 


18  A    HISTORY    OF    TllF   J'ERCIIERON    IJUKSE 

small  region.  The  lowest  point  of  the  territory  is 
at  Tlieil  on  the  Hiiisne,  about  270  feet  above  sea  level, 
and  the  highest  town  is  Mortagne,  at  an  altitude  of 
about  750  feet.  The  shape  of  The  Perche  is  that  of 
an  ellipse,  the  dimensions  about  53  by  66  miles. 
Within  this  elliptical  tract  there  are  now  fifty  can- 
tons. Only  foals  which  are  the  progeny  of  regis- 
tered dams  and  sires  of  the  Percheron  breed  and 
born  in  one  of  these  cantons  are  eligible  for  registra- 
tion at  the  present  time  in  the  Percheron  Stud  Book 
of  France. 

Geolog'ical  Formation. — Geologically  speaking, 
this  territory  is  characterized  essentially  by  creta- 
ceous formations  of  the  Cenomanian  Stage,  and  is  a 
part  of  the  Secondary  Aureole  Period,  circumscribed 
by  the  Tertiary  deposits  of  the  Paris  Basin.  This 
Cenomanian  Stage,  which  dominates  all  over  The 
Perche,  is  subdivided  into  sand  and  Eouen  chalk.  It 
is  the  Eouen  chalk  that  plays  so  important  a  role 
in  the  geological  formation  of  the  region.  It  forms 
all  the  length  of  the  broad  valley  of  the  Huisne,  as 
well  as  that  of  the  Sarthe  in  its  upper  reaches.  Of 
course  the  bottom-lands  of  all  the  valleys  are  com- 
posed of  alluvial  soils  and  are  very  fertile.  Going 
westward  from  Mortagne  and  Belleme,  Jurassic  for- 
mations are  encountered,  and  it  is  a  curious  fact  that 
on  these  soils  we  are  apt  to  meet  with  Percheron 
horses  having  lighter  frames  than  those  raised  in  the 
Huisne  and  Sarthe  valleys.  While  the  soils  of  The 
Perche  vary  somewhat  in  the  various  districts,  they 
are  chiefly  of  clayey  and  clayey-loam  texture.   Sandy 


TPIE   ANCIENT   PROVINCE   OF   THE   PERCHE  19 

soils  are  met  with  occasionally.  In  color  they  vary 
from  black  to  a  ruddy  chocolate. 

Near  Belleme  a  limestone  suitable  for  building 
purposes  is  found.  Free-stone  or  sandstone  is  quar- 
ried at  various  places  in  The  Perclie.  A  consider- 
able quantity  of  marl  is  also  available,  and  it  has 
been  a  custom  for  hundreds  of  years  for  the  farmers 
to  spread  this  over  their  fields.  Formerly  there 
were  many  iron  mines,  chiefly  at  Logny,  but  they 
are  now  exhausted.  The  sandstone  quarries  of  Reg- 
malard  and  Logny  are  still  worked,  this  stone  being 
used  for  building  purposes.  Lime-kilns  are  operated 
in  some  districts. 

Water  Courses. — The  Perche  is  especially  well 
watered.  It  is  rare  that  one  encounters  so  many 
flowing  streams  in  such  a  small  country.  This  fact 
contributes  in  a  great  measure  to  the  excellence  of 
its  pastures.  There  are  six  rivers:  The  Huisne, 
which  rises  to  the  north  of  Belleme,  and  flows  into 
the  Sarthe,  near  the  town  of  Le  Mans,  is  about  77 
miles  long;  the  Sarthe  empties  itself  into  the  Loire, 
after  a  course  of  165  miles;  the  Eure  is  82  miles 
long,  the  Avre  41  miles,  the  Iton  about  60  miles,  and 
the  Loire  about  123  miles.  Not  all  the  mileage  of 
these  rivers  is  in  The  Perche.  There  are  no  less  than 
twenty-seven  small  tributaries  or  rivers  of  the  second 
class.  Many  of  these  streams  would  be  designated 
merely  as  creeks  in  the  United  States.  It  is  the 
Huisne,  in  its  meandering  semi-circular  route  around 
Belleme,  Pervencheres,  Corbon,  Nogent-le-Eotrou 
and  La  Ferte  Bernard,  which  serves  as  the  chief  col- 


20  A   ITISTOKY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

lecting'  medium  of  the  waters  that  descend  the  green 
hills  of  The  Perclie.  A  study  of  the  map  will  reveal 
the  tortuous  course  of  this  river;  it  receives  many 
rivulets  in  its  passage,  and  after  it  leaves  Nogent  its 
volume  increases  perceptibly  until  it  empties  itself 
into  the  Sarthe. 

Climatic  Conditions. — The  surface  of  the  land  is 
considerably  broken,  being  traversed  by  numerous 
valleys,  chief  of  which  are  the  basins  of  the  Huisne 
and  the  Sarthe.  There  is  some  timber  along  the 
banks  of  the  streams  and  on  the  numerous  low  hills. 
The  forests  which  border  the  rim  of  The  Perche 
serve  to  condense  the  atmospheric  vapors,  and  con- 
sequently the  precipitation  is  abundant.  The  climate 
is  rather  humid  and  conducive  to  the  growth  of 
grass.  The  mean  precipitation  is  884  millimeters. 
The  mean  annual  temperature,  according  to  the 
Scientific  Commission  of  the  Department  of  Orne, 
is  49.1°  Fahrenheit.  The  wooded  area  forms  16  per 
cent  of  the  total  land,  a  proportion  which  corres- 
ponds to  the  average  of  all  the  area  of  France.  The 
natural  ''prairies",  Avhere  most  of  the  horses  are 
pastured,  occupy  the  bottom-lands  of  the  valleys. 

Ancient  History. — The  records  of  the  first  settle- 
ments of  this  region,  Belleme,  Mortagne  and  Nogent- 
le-Eotrou,  are  lost  in  remote  antiquity.  The  most 
ancient  Count  of  The  Perche  was  Agombert,  who 
lived  during  the  time  of  Louis  the  Debonair,  about 
830  or  840  A.  D.  When  the  Romans  overran  Gaul 
The  Perche  was  conquered  by  one  of  the  lieutenants 
of  Caesar,   who   in   his  ''Commentaries"  mentions 


n<)<;i;nt-ij:i{(itk<ii    -cHA'reAU  de  saint  jean. 


IN  THE  FOREST  OP  BELLSME,  ORNE. 


THE   ANCIENT    PROVINCE   OF   THE   PERCHE  21 

particularly  the  warlike  character  of  its  inhabitants 
under  their  chief,  Veridiouix,  who  caused  the  Roman 
generals  no  little  work.  In  the  middle  of  the  ninth 
century  the  Norsemen  invaded  The  Perche  and  laid 
waste  the  country. 

In  1135  Nogent,  at  that  time  built  of  wood,  was 
destroyed  by  fire.  About  1358  it  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  English,  but  the  Treaty  of  Bretigny  on  May  8, 
1360,  gave  the  town  back  to  the  French,  and  in  1361 
it  was  turned  over  once  more  to  its  seigneurs.  Once 
or  twice  after  that  date  the  English  obtained  pos- 
session of  it.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1230  that 
The  Perche  came  under  the  French  crown.  From 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century  up  to  the  time  of 
the  French  Revolution — a  period  of  about  200  years 
— the  province  enjoyed  a  profound  peace,  and  agri- 
culture and  stock-breeding  made  much  progress.* 

Rotrou  and  the  Counts  of  The  Perche. — The  Counts 
of  The  Perche  were  first  known  under  the  title  of 
Seigneurs  de  Belleme.  During  the  Middle  Ages  the 
history  of  the  province  was  characterized  by  contin- 
uous strife  and  bloodshed.  During  a  part  of  the 
eleventh  century  there  was  internal  warfare  waged 
by  Robert  II  of  Belleme  against  the  Rotrous,  Counts 


*The  Abbe  Fret,  the  best  known  historian  of  The  Perche  of  mod- 
ern times,  in  his  "Antiquites  et  Chroniques  Percheronnes"  relates  that 
after  about  two  centuries  of  profound  peace  an  insurrection  took  place 
at  Mortagne,  the  capital  of  The  Perche,  on  the  2  3rd  of  July,  1789,  the 
mob  taking-  possession  of  all  the  registers  of  the  excise  and  burning 
them  in  the  market  place.  He  then  relates  how  a  handful  of  rioters 
did  terrible  thing's  at  Nogent,  destroying  by  fire,  among  other  articles 
in  the  public  square,  precious  manuscripts  and  authentic  documents, 
charters  and  other  matter  indispensable  to  the  history  of  the  town. 
He  affirms  that  the  origin  of  Nogent  goes  back  to  the  greatest  an- 
tiquity, and  every  other  historian  of  The  Perche  corroborates  that 
statement. 


22  A   lllSTUKV    OF   THE  I'ERCilEKUN    IIURSE 

of  The  Perclie  and  Mortagno.  According  to  Odo- 
lant-Desnos,  the  Kotrons,  Seignenrs  of  Nogent,  date 
from  before  853.  The  chief  of  these  was  Rotrou  III, 
whom  the  historians  call  Rotron  II.  He  was  first 
Count  of  Mortagne  and  Seigneur  of  Nogent,  became 
later  Count  of  The  Perclie,  and  has  been  surnamed 
The  Great.  As  a  warrior  he  distinguished  himself 
by  his  feats  against  the  Saracens  in  Spain,  conquer- 
ing several  cities  and  taking  many  castles  in  the 
year  1089.  In  1095  he  left  for  the  Crusades  with 
Robert  III,  Duke  of  Normandy,  who  left  his  duchy 
in  pawn  with  Henry  of  England  for  the  sum  of 
10,000  silver  pounds.  Rotrou  commanded  the  tenth 
corps  of  the  army  of  the  Christians  at  the  siege  of 
Antioch.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1099,  he  took  part  in 
the  siege  and  capture  of  Jerusalem.  The  following 
year  he  returned  to  The  Perche. 

When  Rotrou  III  came  back  he  soon  got  into  trou- 
ble with  his  mortal  enemy,  Robert  of  Belleme,  known 
later  to  history  as  "Robert  the  Devil."  In  spite  of 
the  fact  that  Rotrou  had  allied  himself  with  Henry, 
King  of  England,  by  marrying  one  of  his  daughters, 
he  could  not  avoid  falling  into  Robert's  hands  on  two 
occasions.  Later  he  went  once  more  to  fight  the  In- 
fidels in  Spain.  When  he  returned  in  1109  he  founded 
the  Abbey  of  Tyron,  which  became  in  1140  the  cele- 
brated Abbey  of  La  Trappe.  He  founded  other  re- 
ligious orders  in  The  Perche.  Fighting  in  Nor- 
mandy, he  was  killed  at  the  siege  of  the  Grosse  Tour 
of  Rouen.  The  body  was  brought  to  the  church  of 
St.  Denis  at  Nogent,  and  buried.    This  ancient  town. 


(V 
_^\v  Fecamp 


le  HarveV""< 

»       Pt.  Audmere  V^^- 


Dieppe 


St  Valery 
Cany 


0 


Etretat  ,. 


S  E  I  N 


M" 


Beauv.ais 


MAP  OF  A  SECTION  OF  NORTHWESTERX  FRANCE,  SHOWING  LOCATION  OF 
NOGENT-LE-ROTROU  AND  THE  PERCHERON  COUNTRY  IN  REFERENCE  TO 
THE  SEACOAST  AND   THE   CITY   OF  PARIS. 


THE   ANCIENT    PROVINCE    OF   THE    PERCllE  23 

now  known  as  Nogent-le-Rotrou,  is,  and  for  years 
past  has  been,  the  Percheron  capital. 

Charles  Dn  Hays,  Master  of  Horse  to  Napoleon 
III,  in  his  "Le  Clieval  Percheron,"  qnoting  from  the 
Abbe  Fret,  the  author  of  a  history  of  the  province 
of  The  Perclie,  and  accepting  as  correct  the  state- 
ment that  Rotron  and  other  nobles  participating  in 
the  Crusades  brought  back  stallions  from  the  Holy 
Land,  asserts  that  they  were  largely  used.  This 
may  be  true.  Indeed,  it  is  by  no  means  improbable, 
and  3^et  a  careful  reading  of  the  ''Suite  Chrono- 
logique  des  Seigneurs  de  Nogent-le-Rotrou"  by  Odo- 
lant-Desnos,  published  in  1785,  which  includes  a  de- 
tailed account  of  the  homecoming  of  that  knight, 
yields  no  reference  to  his  having  brought  back  Ara- 
bian horses.  Indeed,  we  have  searched  in  vain  in 
early  French  literature  for  any  specific  statements 
to  substantiate  the  generally  accepted  dicta  on  this 
point. 

Modern  Records  Begin. — As  war  gradually  ceased 
to  be  the  chief  business  or  diversion  of  the  great 
nobles  and  landed  proprietors  the  gentler  arts  of 
agriculture  naturally  received  more  attention,  and 
it  followed,  as  a  matter  of  course,  that  efforts  were 
finally  made  to  increase  the  value  of  the  horse  for 
farm  purposes.  Louis  XI  (1461-1483)  first  curbed 
the  power  and  fighting  spirit  of  the  great  feudal 
barons  and  war  lords  who  had  for  so  long  made 
France  a  hotbed  of  internal  strife,  and  he  asserted 
the  majesty  of  centralized  authority. 

Althouofh  we  have  made  diligent  search  through 


24  A    HISTORY    OF    THK    J'EHCIIEKON    HORSE 

a  great  variety  of  old  ])()()ks  and  manuscripts  relat- 
ing to  the  past  history  of  The  Perche,  Ave  have  only 
been  able  to  find  occasional  definite  references  to 
agricultural  operations  as  related  to  horse-breeding. 
There  is  an  original  manuscript  in  the  National  Li- 
brary entitled  "Memoire  sur  la  Comte  du  Perche  en 
I'annee  1698,"  from  Avliich  we  may  quote  as  follows: 

''The  meadows  and  pastures  are  very  good,  espe- 
cially in  the  following  places:  Oirs,  Couilimert,  St. 
Quentin,  La  Mesniere,  St.  Julien  and  Barville  on  the 
Herinne  and  the  Sarthe;  and  Begmalard,  Dorceau, 
Conde,  Condeau,  Mesle  and  Tlieil,  several  of  which 
are  on  the  river  Huisne.  But  the  high  lands  are  not 
very  good.  .  .  .  These  lands,  however,  are  not 
altogether  useless,  for  in  some  cantons  sheep  are 
fattened  on  the  higher  lands,  while  in  other  cantons 
such  as  those  of  Logny,  Lemage  and  Neuilly,  where 
this  rough  land  is  better  than  in  the  other  cantons, 
cows  and  oxen  are  fattened  thereon.  The  sheep  and 
cattle  fattened  in  The  Perche  are  driven  to  Paris,  to 
the  markets  of  Sceaux  and  Poissy." 

''The  county  is  so  ancient  that  its  origin  cannot 
be  found.  It  was  one  of  the  first  provinces  to  be 
established  by  our  kings  after  the  conquests  of  the 
Gauls. 

"The  Election  of  Mortagne  comprises  almost  all 
of  the  province  of  the  Perche;  it  was  created  by 
Charles  the  Ninth,  King  of  France,  Aug.,  1572. 

"The  Manors  of  BeHeme  and  Nogent. — Belleme 
has  57  parishes.  Nogent  is  composed  of  a  large 
borough  and  40  parishes.  There  are  1,300  men  in  the 
borough.  There  are  in  all  the  parishes  of  the  Elec- 
tion of  Mortagne  62,692  souls." 

Live  Stock  Husbandry  Important. — On  page  386 


THE   ANCIENT    PR(^VINCE   OF   THE   PERCHE  25 

of  this  old  manuscript  we  find  the  following  interest- 
ing paragraph : 

"The  Eaising  of  Colts  and  other  Animals. — 
Money  enters  the  province  by  the  following  channels : 
the  sale  of  colts,  fat  cattle  and  sheep,  butter,  poultry 
and  eggs  which  are  taken  to  the  Paris  markets.  As 
the  province  of  The  Perche  is  only  three  days  from 
Paris  (by  road),  there  is  no  difficulty  in  transport- 
ing supplies.  The  wool  which  the  sheep  produce  is 
also  a  great  help.  All  this  brings  in  more  than 
100,000  pounds  a  year.  The  majority  of  the  inhabi- 
tants work  at  plowing  and  cultivating  the  land." 

The  document  also  tells  of  big  fairs  and  markets 

at   Mauves,   Logny,   Regmalard   and   Belleme,   and 

three  important  market  days  every  week  at  Nogent : 

Tuesday,  Thursday  and  Saturday.    We  quote  again : 

"Mauves  is  another  large  borough  admirable  for 
the  fertility  of  its  soil  and  its  situation.  The  Huisne 
nearly  surrounds  it  to  make  an  island.  This  is  a  very 
ancient  town  to  judge  from  its  deeds.  Mortagne  has 
four  fairs  a  year,  and  markets  every  AVednesday 
and  Saturda}^  The  Lord  of  the  Manor  (Seigneur) 
of  Xogent  has  the  right  to  hold  two  fairs  a  year. 
[But  he  did  not  do  so,  we  learn,  as  he  was  content 
with  his  three  market  days  a  week. — Ed.]  The 
women  and  girls  spin  flax  and  wool  at  home,  for 
the  manufacture  of  cloths  at  Nogent  and  Mortagne." 

•  According  to  the  dictionary  of  de  la  Martinier, 
published  in  1768,  The  Perche  was  well  peopled  at 
that  date,  and  a  great  business  was  done  in  wheat 
and  cattle,  the  grain  being  transported  to  Alencon 
and  Brittany  by  horses.  The  chief  manufactures  at 
that  time  were  textiles  produced  at  Mortagne  and 
Nogent.     These  were  carried  to  Paris,  Eouen  and 


26  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   I'ERCIIERON    IJORSE 

St.  Quontiii.  It  is  stated  that  the  breeding  of  horses 
had  at  that  time  reached  great  proportions,  and 
that  four  famous  fairs  were  held  at  Mortagne,  and 
others  at  Belleme,  Tourouvre,  Logny,  Regmahird  and 
Nogent.  Also,  that  the  famous  fair  of  St.  Andrew 
at  Mortagne  attracted  buyers  from  all  the  surround- 
ing provinces. 

Under  the  **  Grand  Monarque." — When  we  arrive 
at  the  golden  age  of  Louis  XIV,  evidence  that  a 
demand  for  a  somewhat  heavier  horse  had  set  in  is 
presented  by  a  manuscript  of  that  period  found 
among  the  documents  pertaining  to  the  government 
haras  (or  studs)  in  the  National  Archives  at  Paris. 
References  appear  in  this  to  the  character  of  the 
king's  stallions  in  service  at  that  time  in  the  Per- 
cheron  country.  Such  information  as  is  given  con- 
cerning them  is  reproduced  in  the  footnote.*  Of 
these  horses  it  will  be  noted  tliat  one  was  a  Barb, 
one  a  "large  bay,''  two  were  gray  and  one  a  sorrel, 
the  blood  not  being  mentioned  except  in  the  case  of 
the  ''dun-colored"  Barb. 


*A  list  signed  by  H.  Duplessix,  Commandant  of  the  Haras,  con- 
taining the  names,  residences,  parish,  etc.,  of  "private  persons  with 
whom  the  stallions  of  the  King  of  France  were  placed  for  their  safe 
keeping"  : 

In  the  Election  of  Mortagne,  Jacques  Billard,  cattle  dealer,  Mor- 
tagne, is  charged  with  the  keeping  of  a  Barb,  dun-colored,  17th  June, 
1673. 

M.  Ren6  Peze,  surgeon  and  apothecary  at  Belleme,  is  charged  with 
a  gray  stallion,  approved  May  15th,  1676. 

M.  Andre  Fristel,  St.  Julien-sur-Sarthe,  is  charged  witli  a  road 
horse,  dapple-gray,  Oct.  15th,  1677. 

Michel  Dreux,  Nogent-le-Rotrou,  is  charged  with  a  sorrel  with 
white    mane    and    tail,    April    15th,    1G7S. 

Rene  Bouillon,  farmer  at  Bcauvais,  parish  of  Iton,  is  charged  with  a 
large  bay  horse,  very  old  and  broken-winded.  There  is  a  note  follow- 
ing this  entry  saying  that  the  latter  stallion  must  not  be  allowed  to 
serve  mares  as  the  Intendant  has  ordered  it  to  be  replaced.  This  is 
dated  May  23.   1674. 


THE   ANCIENT    PROVINCE    OF    THE    PERCHE  27 

In  that  part  of  the  Department  of  Orne  lying  iii 
Normandy  Italian,  Barb,  and  Spanish  stallions  are 
mentioned,  but  no  reference  is  made  of  Arabs.  From 
the  same  document  we  learn  that  "M.  de  Morangis 
has  visited  all  the  stallions  in  the  district,"  finding 
that  ''there  are  many  beginning  to  show  signs  of 
old  age,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  replace  them 
by  more  vigorous  and  heavier  sires;  the  mares  of  the 
region  are  too  small."  He  remarks  that  "as  soon 
as  the  colts  are  six  months  old  the  farmers  sell  them 
to  buyers  coming  from  outside  districts,"  and  that 
"this  method  results  in  the  money  staying  in  the 
country."  This  report  was  then  made  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  State: 

"He  has  visited  all  the  stallions.  There  are  some 
fine  ones  descended  from  the  stallions  of  the  King 
that  would  soon  populate  the  region  if  the  farmers 
would  not  sell  them  at  30  months  old.  Nothing 
stays  in  the  country  except  those  which  certain  gen- 
tlemen are  careful  to  raise  and  mature.  The  major- 
ity of  the  King's  stallions  are  too  old;  a  few  private 
persons  have  replaced  them  by  others. 

"It  would  be  very  desirable  if  the  King  would 
furnish  about  six  more  stallions  of  heavier  build. 
The  Barbs  are  getting  colts  with  too  weak  limbs." 

Notwithstanding  this  criticism  of  the  royal  stal- 
lions it  is  asserted  that  under  Louis  XIV  The  Perche 
still  maintained  that  high  reputation  as  a  nursery 
of  good  horses  which  it  had  apparently  enjoyed 
since  the  Middle  Ages,  and  the  stage-coach  and 
cariying  companies  were  steadily  increasing  their 
purchases  in  the  district.  Speed  with  heavy  loads 
was  of  course  the  prime  requirement  in  front  of  the 


THE  ANCIENT   PROVINCE   OF   THE  PERCHE  29 

ing  hands  each  week.  At  the  fair  held  at  Laigie, 
July  11,  300  head  of  horses  were  disposed  of,  and 
at  the  fair  held  on  the  first  Friday  in  September 
220  head  were  sold.  At  a  third  fair  at  the  same 
place  on  the  12tli  of  November  no  less  than  550  horses 
were  sold. 

In  an  old  brochure  by  P.  Bruyant  entitled,  ''No- 
gent-le-E-otrou  et  ses  environs,"  it  is  stated  that  the 
chief  local  industry,  the  manufacture  of  bolting 
cloth,  began  to  decline  in  1774,  due  primarily  to  the 
shipwreck  of  the  '^Nogent-le-Eotrou"  with  a  cargo 
of  cloth,  the  son  of  the  owner  of  the  vessel  and  of 
the  industry,  Rene  Gullier,  being  drowned  and  his 
father  ruined.  ' '  But, ' '  says  the  author, ' '  fortunately 
the  development  of  the  breeding  of  Percheron  horses 
commenced  to  compensate  for  the  decline  of  this 
local  industry." 

Long  Famous  for  Its  Horses. — Old  letters  written 
by  residents  of  The  Perche  and  still  conserved  in 
the  government  archives  at  Paris  show  that  from 
very  early  periods  the  province  has  been  courted  as 
a  producer  of  good  horses.  In  fact,  its  fame  in  this 
regard  led  to  frequent  spoliation,  numerous  raids  be- 
ing made  by  marauders  who  evidently  knew  in  ad- 
vance where  good  mounts  were  to  be  had.  During 
the  civil  war  known  as  the  Fronde,  under  the  minor- 
ity of  Louis  XIV  (1648-1653),  both  the  party  of 
Mazarin  and  that  of  the  nobles  made  frequent  incur- 
sions into  this  region,  primarily  for  the  purpose  of 
carrying  off  horses.  History  tells  us  that  Beaufort, 
the  warlike  grandson  of  Henry  IV  of  France,  entered 


30  A   JilSTOKV    OF    THE    PEKCHEKUN    UOKSE 

The  Perclie  in  1652,  ' '  striking  terror  everywhere  and 
stealing  horses." 

In  a  letter  in  the  National  Library,  Paris,  dated 
March  7,  1628,  and  written  by  one  Michel  Denyau, 
a  notary  of  Montdoublean,  we  read:  "The  Perche 
has  suffered  very  much ;  the  army  has  carried  off  the 
majority  of  our  mares."  In  another  written  June 
7,  1651,  the  writer  complains:  "The  gendarmerie 
has  ruined  everything  in  The  Perche,  and  publicly 
stolen  everything  it  came  across  in  the  way  of 
horses.  .  .  .  M.  de  Villir  informs  me  that  the 
gendarmerie  has  ruined  everything  in  the  Chartres 
country  and  stolen  the  horses." 

Still  further  confirmatory  of  the  assertion  that 
The  Perche  has  always  been  pre-eminently  a  region 
fitted  to  the  raising  of  live  stock,  and  especially 
horses,  we  find  the  following  eighteenth  century  let- 
ter from  the  Intendant  of  Alengon  to  the  Intendant 
of  Tours  on  the  subject  of  rumors  relative  to  the 
cornering  of  the  wheat  crop: 

"Have  no  faith,  sire,  in  the  reputation  for  an 
abundance  of  wheat  which  we  are  said  to  possess. 
I  have  already  had  the  honor  of  calling  your  atten- 
tion to  the  fact  that  in  all  the  Election  of  Alengon 
there  is  not  produced  enough  wheat  to  feed  us  three 
months.  Our  culture  consists  in  grass  and  hay  to 
fatten  our  steers,  which  we  get  from  Poitou,  and  to 
raise  very  fine  horses,  wliicli  make   our  jnincipal 


commerce. ' ' 


A  People  Devoted  to  Their  Own. — All  tlie  world 
has  wept  with  Longfellow  over  the  fate  of  the 
Acadian  farmers  of  Grand  Pre.    The  attachment  of 


THE   ANCIENT    PROVINCE   OF   THE   PERCHE  31 

the  French  people  to  the  soil  upon  which  the}^  have 
lived  and  loved  is  indeed  proverbial.  We  in  Amer- 
ica have  before  ns  the  fine  illustration  of  the  thrift}^, 
home-keeping  habitants  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence. 
This  trait  is  strongly  marked  among  the  expatriated 
French,  but  when  we  come  to  those  actually  born 
and  bred  under  the  lilies  of  Old  France  it  assumes 
the  form  of  that  passionate  devotion  to  country  which 
finds  ready  and  tragic  demonstration  whenever  the 
call  to  arms  is  sounded. 

From  time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  runneth 
not  to  the  contrary  this  adherence  to  things  which 
have  been  their  own  for  generations  has  marked  par- 
ticularly the  character  of  the  farmers  of  provincial 
France.  The  Abbe  Fret,  one  of  the  chief  historians 
of  The  Perche,  referring  to  the  habits  of  the  people 
of  this  province  before  the  revolution,  said: 

^'Eacli  village  family,  free  from  all  ambition,  occu- 
pied itself  with  its  purely  domestic  affairs,  and  rare- 
ly lost  to  A^iew  the  church  steeple  of  its  own  re- 
spective parish.  Each  individual,  content  with  the 
lot  apportioned  by  Providence,  desired  neither  great- 
ness nor  riclies  and  the  village  church-yard  held 
within  its  bosom  the  ashes  of  ten  generations;  for 
it  was  an  honor  to  share  the  last  resting  place  with 
one's  forefathers  just  as  they  had  shared  their  lega- 
cies." 

The  Perche  of  Today. — After  the  Revolution  The 
Perche,  together  with  all  the  other  ancient  provinces 
of  France,  was  divided  into  departments.  Thus  we 
find  The  Perche  today  comprises  the  departments  of 
Orne,  Sarthe,  Eure-et-Loir  and  Loir-et-Cher.     Orne 


32  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCH EKON    HORSE 

and  Sartlie  incliule  the  greater  part  of  the  territory, 
but  Eure-et-Loir,  in  which  the  city  of  Nogent-h> 
Rotrou  is  sitnated,  is  perhaps  of  the  greatest  impor- 
tance so  far  as  the  Percheron  breed  is  concerned. 
Loir-et-Cher  has  the  least  territory  in  The  Perche, 
and  yet  the  neighborhood  of  Montdoubleau  and 
Savigny-sur-Bray  has  always  been  famous  for  pro- 
ducing fine  draft  mares  of  true  Percheron  character. 
The  birthplace  of  the  modern  type  is  found  within 
a  radius  of  18  or  20  miles  around  Nogent,  a  territory 
w^iich  includes  a  little  of  all  four  of  the  departments. 
It  should  here  be  observed  that  not  one  of  these 
departments  in  its  entirety  is  found  in  The  Perche. 
For  example,  a  part  of  Orne  is  situated  in  what  has 
long  been  known  as  Normandy.  The  great  breed- 
ing centers  of  the  Percheron  race  at  this  date,  and 
in  fact  for  many  3^ears  past,  have  been  Nogent-le- 
Eotrou  in  Eure-et-Loir,  La  Ferte  Bernard  in  the 
Sarthe,  and  Mortagne  in  Orne. 

What  the  farmers  of  The  Perche  were  in  the  olden 
times  so  are  they  today,  in  so  far  as  relates  to  their 
devotion  to  home  and  land  and  horses.  Their  horses 
are  a  part  of  their  inheritance  particularly  prized  and 
accustomed  to  the  affectionate  attention  of  the  entire 
household.  Their  docility,  growing  out  of  this  in- 
timate human  companionship,  is  therefore  an  inborn 
trait. 

Such  is,  in  brief,  the  cradle  of  tlie  breed  of  which 
we  are  to  write — a  region  of  green  liills  and  verdant 
vales,  populated  by  a  patient,  persistent,  kindly, 
frugal,  shrewd,  home-loving  people  rooted  firmly  to 


THE   ANCIENT   PROVINCE   OF   THE   PERCHE  33 

the  soil  of  their  fathers  and  always  loyal  to  the  old 
traditions.  Around  their  white  ancestral  walls  old- 
fashioned  flowers  grow  and  sweet-scented  roses 
bloom,  and  with  each  recurring  advent  of  spring 
through  dreamy  sunny  days  and  under  skies  of  rarest 
blue  the  apple  blossoms  fill  with  beauty  all  the  land 
and  spread  their  fragrance. 

Quaint  and  picturesque,  and  true  always  to  itself, 
is  this  ancient  province  of  The  Perche. 


CHAPTER  II. 
PERCHEPiON  PROTOTYPES. 

The  author  of  a  ''History  of  Ancient  Perclie,"  M. 
Oclolant-Desnos,  remarks  that  the  French  are  ' '  more 
inclined  to  make  history  than  to  write  it."  They 
have  developed  the  Percheron  horse,  but  his  real 
origin  is  involved  in  almost  total  obscurity.  Only 
speculation  can  be  indulged  in  concerning  his  re- 
mote past,  and  strange  to  relate,  until  now  few  facts 
have  been  available  touching  the  evolution  during 
the  past  centuiy  of  the  heavy  draft  type,  which,  it 
must  be  understood,  is  distinctly  a  modern  creation. 
Prior  to  the  Napoleonic  wars  the  Percherons  were 
practically  all  of  the  diligence  type,  and  it  was  not 
until  about  1820  that  a  demand  for  heavier  horses  for 
agricultural  purposes  manifested  itself  sufficiently 
to  induce  a  studied  effort  at  increasing  the  size  and 
weight  of  the  breed.  The  French  government  gave 
this  movement  support,  as  will  be  shown  presently, 
and  the  farmers  of  The  Perche  persisted  in  their 
efforts  in  this  direction  until  the  foundation  was  laid 
upon  which  was  made  possible  the  production,  at  a 
still  later  date,  of  the  2,000-pound  horse  ultimately 
called  for  by  the  American  trade. 

This  one  thing  we  know:  that  through  centuries 
of  vicissitudes  the  farmers  of  The  Perche  clung  to 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  35 

their  good  horses,  modifying  the  type  from  time  to 
time  to  meet  changing  conditions.  From  the  earliest 
tmies  The  Perche  farmer  has  been  a  producer  of 
horses,  and  not  often  a  buyer  from  elsewhere.  The 
whole  temper  of  The  Perche  people  is  opposed 
to  the  miscellaneous  introduction  of  material  from 
the  outside.  They  were  a  little  world  unto  them- 
selves in  this  matter  of  their  horses,  and  relied 
mainly  upon  their  own  ability  to  mold  the  type  from 
within  the  limits  of  their  own  country  as  new  de- 
mands were  made.  They  were  always  free  sellers  of 
colts  and  horses  to  the  adjacent  provinces  and  central 
cities.  The  usual  movement  was  from  within  out- 
ward, and  not  from  the  outside  into  the  district.  An 
understanding  of  this  fact  is  of  fundamental  im- 
portance in  attempting  to  grasp  the  reasons  for  the 
Percheron's  latter-day  popularity.  It  establishes  a 
basis  for  his  prepotency  in  crossing  upon  mares  of 
mixed  breeding,  such  as  were  commonly  found  in  the 
adjacent  provinces  of  France  and  especially  such  as 
were  in  use  in  the  United  States  at  the  time  the  great 
extension  of  Percheron  breeding  in  America  began. 
Some  of  the  Fairy  Tales. — Almost  every  possible 
equine  ancestry  has  been  suggested  to  explain  the 
existence  of  the  Percheron  horse.  For  a  long  time 
— and  even  to  this  day  one  may  find  this  explanation 
given  in  encyclopedias  and  other  books  of  general 
information — it  was  maintained  that  the  Percheron 
was  a  descendant  of  the  Brittany  draft  horse.  Some 
writers  have  gone  so  far  as  to  advance  the  theory 
that  the  Percheron  is  of  English  ancestry;  others 


.'^f)  A    IIISTOKV   OF    THE    PERC'IIERON    HORSE 

state  that  the  gray  color  has  l)eeii  obtained  by  liberal 
crossings  with  the  Bonlonnais;  many  liave  hinted 
that  Flemish  blood  has  entered  into  its  make-up. 
Some  writers  tells  us  that  the  old  Bourbonnais  horse 
has  played  a  prominent  part  in  the  evolution  of  the 
Percheron;  others  hint  of  a  possible  Spanish  source. 
It  has  even  been  asserted  that  the  black  color  which 
became  popular  about  1880  was  due  to  Nivernais 
blood,  while  still  others  have  exaggerated  the  use  of 
Picardy  mares,  introduced  to  a  small  extent  near 
Montdoubleau  near  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  proclaiming  them  the  progenitors  of  the 
heavy  Percheron  type.  And  last,  but  by  no  means 
least,  there  is  the  commonly  accepted  teaching  that 
the  Percheron  is  of  Oriental  origin  and  that  even  as 
late  as  the  nineteenth  century  his  latter-day  excel- 
lence, as  well  as  his  predominating  color,  is  to  be 
ascribed  to  the  powerful  influence  of  two  Arabian 
stallions  from  the  government  haras  at  Le  Pin! 

It  would  be  idle  to  discuss  all  these  in  detail.  Tra- 
ditions are  anybody's  creation.  Legendary  tales 
must  pass  at  their  own  value.  Authentic  French 
government  records,  however,  cannot  well  be  got 
around.  We  shall  present  some  that  have  apparently 
been  heretofore  overlooked. 

The  Saracenic  Rout. — Historians  affirm  that  on 
the  day  in  which  Charles  Martel,  a  king  of  Old 
France,  met  and  overcame  the  Moslem  host  of  Ab- 
derame  upon  the  field  of  battle  between  Tours  and 
Poitiers  300,000  Saracens  were  slaughtered.  The 
fate  of  Christendom  was  at  stake.     This  was  A.  D. 


PERCHERON    PROTOTYPES  37 

732.  There  is  more  than  a  suspicion  tliat  the  num- 
ber slain  was  placed  ])y  the  old  chroniclers  at  a  figure 
large  enough  to  cover  all  possible  contingencies. 
However,  that  is  not  the  point.  It  has  always  been 
claimed  that  in  this  overw^helming  rout  the  invaders 
left  behind  them  many  horses  of  the  desert  breed, 
and  that  these  were  distributed  among  the  troops  of 
the  French  monarch,  many  of  whom  lived  in  the 
regions  since  known  as  the  Orleanais,  Normandy 
and  The  Perclie. 

That  Arab  blood  was  left  behind  at  the  time  of 
this  crowning  disaster  to  Oriental  arms  in  western 
Europe  no  one  need  doubt;  and  looking  down  the 
long  vista  of  the  centuries  that  have  come  and  gone 
since  then,  we  may  find  in  this  a  possible  explanation 
of  the  combined  style  and  substance  of  the  gray  and 
white  chargers  so  numerous  in  the  middle  ages 
— a  possible  cross  of  the  eastern  blood-horse  upon  a 
weightier  w^estern  type. 

Mounts  of  the  Crusaders. — After  the  lapse  of 
some  centuries  came  the  Crusades,  when  the  very 
flower  of  European  chivalry,  rallying  to  the  standard 
of  the  cross,  invaded  the  Holy  Land.  Numerous  ex- 
peditions followed  in  which  the  French  monarchs 
and  nobles  took  a  conspicuous  part.  It  has  been 
said  that  The  Perclie  received  liberal  introduc- 
tions of  Arabian  blood  following  the  return  of  the 
Crusaders,  who  are  alleged  to  have  brought  back 
stallions  that  were  freely  used  to  the  great  profit  of 
the  horses  of  the  district.  Certain  writers  go  so  far 
as  to  name  Geoffroy  IV,  the  lord  of  Montdoubleau, 


38  A    IIlSTOin'   OF    TITF.    PKRCTTERON    IJORSE 

Count  Eogor  of  Bellesiner,  Goroze,  the  lord  of  Saint 
Cerney,  Courville  and  Courseroult,  and  Eotrou, 
Count  of  The  Perche,  as  personages  of  high  degree 
who  aided  in  this  undertaking.  It  is  further  alleged 
that  while  the  blood  was  also  brought  into  other 
provinces  it  was  nowhere  so  carefully  conserved  or 
in-bred  as  in  The  Perche.  All  of  which  may  be  true, 
or  it  may  be  pure  invention.  The  fact  is,  that  if  the 
traditions  as  to  the  type  of  horses  used  by  the  Cru- 
saders and  the  knights  of  the  feudal  ages  handed 
down  from  one  generation  of  artists  to  another  are 
to  be  relied  upon  in  any  degree  whatsoever,  it  is 
more  probable  that  the  Crusaders  waged  war  with 
horses  of  their  own  production  much  better  adapted 
to  their  needs  than  was  any  desert  stock. 

In  concluding  his  discussion  of  the  effects  of  these 
expeditions  upon  European  progress  the  great 
French  authority,  Michaud,  in  his  "History  of  the 
Crusades,"  speaking  of  various  benefits  accruing 
to  the  participating  nations,  takes  up  in  detail  the 
contributions  to  the  arts  and  industries  growing  out 
of  those  conflicts.  Among  other  things  he  mentions 
the  effect  of  the  Crusades  on  European  agriculture 
and  tells  of  wheat  and  of  various  fruits  and  plants 
that  were  brought  back  to  Europe.  But  the  only 
reference  he  makes  to  the  horse  in  this  connection  is 
in  the  following  sentence: 

''A  short  time  after  the  first  expedition  of  Louis 
IX  Birbar  sent  to  Mainfrey,  son  of  Frederick  II, 
several  Mogul  prisoners  with  their  horses,  which 
were  of  Tartar  breed." 


UNFURLING    THE    SACRED    ORIFI^\MirB    OF    OIJ)    FRANCE.— FROM 
FROISSART'S      "CHRONICTJSS." 


-'^■---■?'"- 


CRUSADERS     IN     COMBAT.— FROM     FROISSABT'S     "CHRONICLES." 


PERCH EKON    PROTOTYPES  39 

No  mention  is  made  of  tlie  introduction  of  Arabian 
stallions.  Curiously  enough,  in  a  fine  edition  of  this 
work  published  some  years  ago,  profusely  illustrated 
with  drawings  by  the  celebrated  artist  Gustave 
Dore,  the  French  and  the  English  knights,  and  even 
royalty  itself,  when  mounted  are  invariably  shown 
astride  stoutly  built  white  or  gray  chargers.  On 
such  a  horse  Dore  delineates  Eichard  Coeur  de  Lion 
himself  in  his  famous  conflict  with  the  Sultan  Sala- 
din.  Another  drawing,  entitled  "Glorious  death  of 
Jacques  de  Maille,''  shows  that  famous  Knight  of 
the  Temple  going  to  his  death  as  a  noble  steed  of 
the  same  type  sinks  to  the  earth  pierced  by  many 
arrows.  Again  in  the  jDlate  entitled  "The  Battle 
of  Antioch,"  the  European  knights  are  seen  gallop- 
ing into  action  mounted  on  great  wide-quartered 
horses  of  the  same  general  conformation.  So  in 
the  picture  of  "200  Knights  Attacking  20,000  Sara- 
cens ' '  the  big,  white  chargers  are  everywhere  in  evi- 
dence. Most  curious  of  all,  perhaps,  is  the  fact  that 
Dore  in  drawing  upon  his  imagination  to  illustrate 
the  celebrated  "Apparition  of  Saint  George  on  the 
Mount  of  Olives"  depicts  the  patron  saint  of  Eng- 
land mounted  on  a  white  horse  of  the  same  type  and 
fitted  out — very  properly  for  a  steed  used  in  navi- 
gating the  air — with  a  pair  of  wings! 

War  Horses  of  the  Middle  Ages. — Histories  deal- 
ing with  the  Dark  Ages  are  lamentably  lacking  in 
horse  lore.  Breeds  were  not  discussed  much  in  those 
days;  only  types  were  mentioned.  TIk^  draft  horse 
had  then  no  place.    The  war  horse  dominated  every- 


40  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHEROX    HORSE 

where.  Plowing  was  done  chiefly  by  oxen.  The 
carrying  trade  was  done  either  by  oxen  or  by  pack 
animals.  Even  as  recently  as  abont  200  years  ago 
we  find  from  the  old  manuscripts  on  The  Perche 
that  the  native  horses  in  that  province  transported 
on  their  backs  wheat  and  manufactured  goods  to 
Paris  (three  days  by  road),  to  Kouen,  Brittany  and 
other  centers.  There  were  three  classes  of  horses 
used — the  destrier,  or  war  charger,  the  palfrey,  or 
parade  horse,  and  the  roussin,  or  road  horse.  These 
designations  Avere  in  vogue  until  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  centur}^ 

The  horse  that  could  serve  successfully  the  pur- 
poses of  the  mail-clad  warriors  of  feudal  times  had 
to  be  up  to  carrying  a  lot  of  weight.  With  the  bur- 
dens put  upon  them,  no  weakling  steeds  would  long 
survive  the  shock  of  joust  or  tournament  or  the  more 
serious  work  of  the  field  of  battle.  Not  only  was  the 
charger  himself  sometimes  loaded  down  with  his 
own  gear — metal-ornamented  caparison,  with  per- 
chance steel  breast-plate  and  head-piece — but  in 
the  saddle  was  an  athletic  rider  with  his  load  of  iron 
and  lance  or  battleaxe  in  place.  Substance  without 
sluggishness  Avas  a  prime  consideration.  Activity 
in  hand-to-hand  combat  meant  losing  or  gaining  all. 
A  horse  Avith  proud  carriage  Avas  demanded  to  meet 
the  state  and  dignity  of  nobility  and  royalty.  In 
brief,  only  a  grand  good  type  of  horse  could  meet 
the  imperatiA^e  requirements  of  those  Avhose  Ha^cs 
depended  so  largely  upon  the  Aveight  and  mettle  of 
their  mounts. 


A    WAR    HORSE    OF    THE    MIDDLE    AGES— REPRODUCED    FROM    FROISSART'S 
"CHRONICLES    OF    ENGLAND.    FRANCE    AND    SPAIN." 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  41 

We  have  before  us  as  we  write  a  rare  old  edition 
of  that  famous  literary  landmark  of  the  feudal  ages, 
"The  Chronicles  of  England,  France  and  Spain," 
written  by  Sir  John  Froissart,  "the  Herodotus  of  a 
barbarous  age."  In  it  are  recounted  the  most  dar- 
ing deeds  performed  by  the  belted  knights  of  the 
thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries.  There  are  prac- 
tically no  references  in  the  text  to  types  of  horses, 
but  there  are  many  quaint  wood  engravings,  repro- 
ductions of  old-time  delineations,  that  are  not  with- 
out interest  in  this  connection. 

Crude  as  these  old  drawings  may  appear,  there  is 
this  to  be  said  about  them:  they  apparently  demon- 
strate, in  the  first  place,  that  gray  and  white  were 
the  prevailing,  or  at  least  the  favorite,  colors  with 
the  French  noblesse  of  that  period;  and  in  the  second 
place,  that  the  artists  were  endeavoring  to  draw 
horses  that  were  not  only  refined,  clean-limbed  and 
of  good  style,  but  that  also  possessed  marked  sub- 
stance. Stout  middles  and  generally  thick  bodies 
are  almost  invariably  shown. 

It  can  of  course  be  said  that  neither  Dore  nor  the 
earlier  artists  who  undertook  to  depict  the  type  of 
horses  in  use  in  the  old  days  had  any  technical 
knowledge  of  breeds  or  types.  That  is  probably 
true.  Animal  delineation  was  not  their  specialty. 
Nevertheless,  the  fact  that  many  different  artists 
working  at  different  periods  and  illustrating  differ- 
ent phases  of  the  military  operations  of  the  Cru- 
sades and  the  Middle  Ages,  seem  to  have  fixed  upon 
practically  the  same  type  of  horse  in  nearly  every 


4L^  a    UISTUKV   UF   the   PEKCHEKON    llOKSE 

instance,  to  wit,  a  gray  or  white  with  clean-cut  head, 
heavy  shouklers,  wide  back  and  quarters  and, 
usually,  clean  limbs,  is  significant. 

Corroborating  the  work  of  the  artists,  at  least  in 
respect  to  the  color,  may  be  cited  a  verse  from  the 
old-time  ballad  recounting  the  deeds  of  valor  per- 
formed by  one  Charles  de  Trie,  a  valiant  knight  of 
The  Perche.  It  was  sung  by  the  wandering  minstrels 
and  ran  as  follows: 

"Ce  biau  sire  de  Trie, 
Sur  son  blanc  destrier, 
Contre  gent  ennemie 
S'en  va  guerroyer." 

This  old  French  has  been  freely  translated: 

"On  charger  white  the   sire  of  Trie 
Against  the  foe  has  gone  to  war." 

M.  Du  Hays,  whose  great  affection  for  the  Per- 
cheron  led  him  to  prepare  his  beautifully-written 
history  of  the  breed,  remarks  that  in  his  childhood 
he  had  often  been  rocked  to  sleep  to  the  tune  of 
this  old  song,  embodying  as  it  did  one  of  the  old 
traditions  of  the  ^^rovince. 

The  Probable  Foundation. — That  the  blood  of  the 
Arab,  derived  from  the  spoils  of  the  great  Saracenic 
rout,  may  have  been  the  source  of  the  style  and 
beauty  of  the  w^ar  horses  used  several  centuries  later 
by  the  Crusaders  against  the  Moslems,  is  not  a  vio- 
lent assumption.  That  the  Frencli  nobles  brought 
back  Arabian  stallions  from  the  Holy  Land  is  not 
at  all  improbable.  That  th(\se  were  used  upon  the 
mares  of  Tlie  Perche  and  otlier  ])rovinces  is  easily 
possible.     But  upon  neither  point  is  there  any  real 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  43 

proof.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  testmiony  handed 
down  by  artist  and  liistorian  is  of  any  value  what- 
soever, we  may  safely  assert  that  gray  horses  of 
noble  character  and  stout  conformation  were  in  uni- 
versal favor  in  France  at  the  time  of  the  Norman 
conquest  of  England  and  continued  to  be  popular 
throughout  the  centuries  preceding  the  introduction 
of  the  diligence.  We  conclude,  therefore,  that  the 
strong,  active  grays  with  which  those  heavy  vehicles 
were  horsed  were  in  all  probability  the  lineal  de- 
scendants, the  logical  successors,  of  the  splendid 
horses  that  graced  the  age  of  chivalry  in  western 
Europe.  This,  then,  is  the  likely  prototype  of  the 
Percheron  of  pre-Napoleonic  times,  the  fountainhead 
of  that  courage,  soundness,  stamina  and  color  which 
has  long  been  his  heritage. 

Before  passing  to  our  examination  of  the  records 
of  the  French  Government,  which  throw  such  a  flood 
of  light  upon  the  modern  type  of  the  breed,  we 
present  the  report  of  a  discussion  which  took  place  in 
The  Perche  many  years  ago  touching  the  mooted 
question  of  the  remote  derivation  of  the  race.  This 
has  not  heretofore  been  accessible  to  the  general 
public,  but  was  uncovered  in  the  course  of  our  ex- 
tended exploration  of  the  agricultural  literature  of 
France.  In  view  of  its  historical  importance  we 
here  give  it  place. 

Normandy  Invades  The  Perche. — We  refer  to  a 
congress  of  agriculturists  held  at  Mortagne  in  1843, 
a  full  account  of  which  we  find  in  the  official  ''An- 
nuaire  de  PAssociation  Normande,'^  the  only  report 


44  A    HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCUEHON    HORSE 

extant.  It  may  be  stated  in  passing  that  this  "Asso- 
ciation Normande"  was  an  organization  that  met  at 
different  towns  in  Normandy  at  stated  periods. 
While  it  was  customary  to  hoh.l  the  annual  congress 
at  some  town  within  the  borders  of  the  ancient 
province  of  Normandy,  this  meeting  of  1843  was 
held  in  the  Arrondissement  of  Mortagne,  which  is 
wholly  in  The  Perche  and  has  always  formed  a  part 
of  the  Generality  of  AleuQon,  the  capital  of  the  pres- 
ent Department  of  Orne,  in  which  the  town  and 
Arrondissement  of  Mortagne  are  situated.  This  de- 
tail explains  the  reason  why  the  Normandy  associa- 
tion, including  as  it  did  many  members  living  in 
The  Perche,  took  up  the  question  of  the  breeding  and 
origin  of  the  Percherons,  which  at  that  time  was 
exciting  much  interest.  We  mention  this  in  order 
to  record  the  fact  that  a  certain  part  of  Normandy 
and  The  Perche  encroached  the  one  upon  the  other, 
and  it  was  only  by  following  up  the  bibliography  of 
French  agriculture  under  the  head  "Normande" 
that  we  were  able  to  locate  this  important  report  of 
the  Mortagne  congress  of  1843,  which  we  believe  has 
not  heretofore  been  presented  in  connection  with  the 
study  of  this  subject.  In  fact,  so  far  as  we  know, 
this  is  the  first  time  that  the  letter  of  the  Abbe  Fret 
has  been  given  to  the  Percheron  breeding  public  of 
the  present  time  in  its  entirety.  We  are  indebted  to 
the  ' '  Societe  des  Savants ' '  for  the  privilege  of  exam- 
ining the  publications  of  the  "Association  Nor- 
mande." 

Whence  the  Percheron? — Under  the  head,  "Pace 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  45 

de  Clievaux  Perclierons, ' '  we  find  the  question  intro- 
duced as  follows: 

^'M.  de  Caumont  having  put  questions  concerning 
the  breeds,  and  respecting  the  Percheron  breed  in 
particular,  a  discussion  took  place  upon  this  subject. 

"M.  Oliver,  veterinarian,  has  the  floor.  He  pointed 
out  that  formerly  the  Percheron  breed  comprised 
two  well  defined  varieties  or  types;  the  lighter  type 
was  known  as  a  'light  draft  horse,'  and  the  other, 
which  Avas  larger  and  more  material,  was  called  a 
'draft  horse.'  He  complained  that  the  introduction  of 
Picardy  mares  in  the  neighborhod  of  Montdoubleau, 
about  1815,  had  altered  the  primitive  type  of  the 
Percheron.  He  thought  that  b}^  making  the  breed 
larger  in  size  they  had  closed  one  of  their  most  im- 
portant outlets,  viz.,  the  sale  of  army  horses,  which 
had  been,  under  the  Empire,  their  most  assured  out- 
let. He  thought  also  that  even  the  service  of  dili- 
gences must  suffer  from  the  alteration  in  type  which 
he  had  mentioned,  and  he  expressed  a  wish  that  the 
government  would  take  the  necessary  steps  to  estab- 
lish the  ancient  Percheron  breed  in  all  its  purit}^ 

"M.  Gautier,  veterinarian,  replying  to  M.  Oliver 
thought  that  the  changes  complained  of  had  not 
brought  about  differences  so  important  in  the  Per- 
cheron breed  as  he  (M.  Oliver)  had  supposed,  be- 
cause if  the  breed  really  had  become  heavier  by 
means  of  the  mares  of  Montdoubleau,  these  mares 
are  none  the  less  Perclierons.  M.  Gautier  thought 
that  the  railroads  would  cause  great  modifications 
in  the  horse  trade,  and  that  in  the  future  the  number 
of  horses  required  for  diligence  purposes  would 
diminish  according  to  the  development  of  new  rail- 
ways, and  that  it  was  necessary  for  the  farmers  of 
that  region  to  apply  themselves  to  the  production  of 
army  horses. 


46  A    IllSTOKY    OF    Til  10   PEHCIIERON    JlORSE 

"M.  (le  Blanpre  remarked  that  castration  was  not 
in  usage  in  The  Perehe,  and,  if  Pereheron  horses 
supported  the  operation  like  horses  of  otiier  breeds, 
it  would  appear  that,  according  to  a  generally  adopt- 
ed opinion,  a  profound  alteration  took  place  in  their 
qualities,  etc. 

"M.  Bigot  thought  that  the  farmers  of  The  Perclie 
should  assure  themselves  respecting  the  effect  of  the 
railroads  on  the  horse  trade.  The  same  fears  had 
been  manifested  in  Belgium,  now  covered  with  a 
network  of  railroads. ' ' 

The  Arabian  Tradition. — M.  de  Blanpre  then  read 
a  letter  ' '  from  M.  1  'Abbe  Fret,  member  of  the  Asso- 
ciation," regarding  the  origin  of  the  Pereheron 
horse.  The  priest  had  mentioned  the  Pereheron  in 
his  well  known  history  of  The  Perehe,  but  in  so 
doing  he  had  quoted  from  the  writings  of  Deles- 
tang.  It  was  not  until  this  Mortagne  congress  of 
1843,  in  the  letter  herewith  reproduced,  written  to 
be  read  upon  that  occasion,  that  we  find  anything 
mentioned  as  to  the  bringing  of  Oriental  stallions 
back  from  Palestine  by  Perehe  noblemen  or  as  to 
the  part  such  horses  possibly  played  in  the  history 
of  the  Pereheron.  Neither  Du  Hays  nor  his  follow- 
ers have  given  any  quotations  from  this  letter,  nor 
has  any  of  them  given  any  account  of  the  debate 
that  occurred  between  the  members  of  the  associa- 
tion which  took  place  upon  that  occasion.  The  letter 
follows: 

'' Within  the  confines  of  the  ancient  province  of 
The  Perehe  is  raised  a  breed  of  horses  known  by 
the  name  of  Percherons,  very  distinct  both  in  ex- 
terior and  aptitudes;  they  have  the  size,  some  have 


PERCHEROX   PROTOTYPES  47 

fine  conformation,  and  they  are,  for  the  most  part, 
excellent  draft  horses.  In  many  of  the  manor  honses 
in  the  lower  Perche  there  is  a  tradition  that  lias 
been  handed  down  for  six  centnries  to  the  effect  that 
the  beauty  of  this  breed  was  due  primitively  to  its 
crossing'  with  the  Arab,  of  which  breed  g'ood  judges 
find  today,  in  the  shape  only  of  certain  individuals 
in  The  Perche,  several  characteristic  traits. 

"At  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  influenced  like 
others  by  the  religious  zeal  which,  in  this  period  of 
chivalry,  compelled  them,  as  a  duty,  to  arm  them- 
selves against  the  infidels,  a  large  number  of  the 
Percheron  Seigneurs  started  out  for  the  conquest  of 
Palestine,  and  stayed  for  more  or  less  time  in  the 
Orient.  Several  of  these  valiant  knights  errant 
brought  back  from  this  far  off  country  some  Arabian 
horses  of  the  strain  'kadischi,'  which  were  employed 
in  the  improvement  of  the  native  breed.  Geoifroy  IV, 
Seigneur  of  iVfontdoubleau,  was  one  of  the  Crusaders 
who  showed  the  most  zeal  in  propagating  this  breed. 

"Tradition  has  left  us  a  pretty  good  idea  of  this 
improved  breed,  formerly  in  great  demand  as  coach 
horses,  which  for  elegance,  conformation,  energy, 
style  and  long  service  could  be  compared  to  the 
breed  known  as  the  Limousine.  But,  by  its  crossing 
with  breeds  less  perfect,  it  has  successively  degen- 
erated, and  almost  entirely  fallen  owing  to  the  negli- 
gence and  apathy  of  the  landowners,  who  have  done 
nothing  whatever  so  far  as  selecting  individuals  for 
breeding  purposes  is  concerned.  However,  this  breed 
is  today  in  such  demand  by  buyers  from  the  adja- 
cent departments  that  it  is  becoming  a  branch  of 
commerce  of  great  benefit  to  the  region,  and  for  that 
reason  it  is  necessary  that  it  should  be  improved. 

' '  The  possession  of  Algeria  by  France  renders  the 
importation  of  Arabs  of  the  'kadischi'  strain  ex- 
tremely easy.     Assuredly  the  mixing  of  this  blood 


48  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

with  the  Percheron  blood  would  produce  the  same 
results  as  during  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries. 
''We  ardently  trust  that  the  rich  landowners  of 
The  Perche  will  take  the  initiative  in  this  worthy 
cause,  so  that  the  province,  which  has  produced  for 
France  this  fine  breed  to  which  it  has  given  its  name, 
will  not  be  disinherited  of  the  glory  of  having  ren- 
dered it  its  primitive  purity. ''* 

An  Historic  Discussion. — Inasmuch  as  the  abbe's 


•This  document  is  deemed  of  such  historic  interest  that  we  here- 
with supplement  our  translation  of  it  by  presenting  the  original  French  : 

"Li'ancienne  province  du  Perche  eleve  dans  son  sein  une  race  de 
chevaux  connu  sous  le  noni  de  percherons,  tres  distinct  par  leur  forme 
et  d'un  bon  service  ;  ils  ont  de  la  taille,  quelques-uns  de  la  figure,  et 
sont  la  plupart  d'excellents  chevaux  de  trait. 

"Une  tradition,  conservee  depuis  six  siecles  dans  plusieurs  chateaux 
du  bas  Perche,  pretend  que  la  beaute  de  cette  race  6tait  due  primitive- 
ment  a  son  melange  avec  la  race  arabe,  dont  les  connaisseurs  retrouvent 
encore  aujourd'hui,  dans  la  figure  seulement  de  quelques  individus 
plusieurs   traits  caracteristiques. 

"A  I'epoque  des  croisades,  entraines  comme  les  autres  par  le  zSle 
religieux  qui,  dans  ce  temps  chevaleresques,  leur  faisait  un  devoir  de 
s'armer  contre  les  infideles,  grand  nombre  de  seigneurs  percherons 
partirent  pour  la  conquete  de  la  Palestine,  et  resterent  plus  ou  moins 
de  temps  dans  I'Orient.  Plusieurs  de  ces  preux  paladins  ramenerent  de 
ce  pays  lointain  quelques  chevaux  arabes  de  la  race  "kadischi",  qui 
furent  employes  a  I'amelioration  de  la  race  indigene.  Geoffroy  IV, 
Seigneur  de  Montdoublcau,  fut  un  des  seigneurs  croises  qui  mirent  le 
plus  zele  a  propager  cette  race. 

"La  tradition  nous  a  laiss6  une  idee  avantageuse  de  cette  race  per- 
fectionnee,  qu'on  recherchait  autrefois  pour  les  attelages  de  luxe,  et 
que  Ton  comparait  pour  la  grace,  I'elegance,  la  figure,  la  vigueur,  la 
finesse,  et  la  duree,  a  la  race  connue  sous  le  nom  de   limousine. 

Mais,  par  son  melange  avec  des  races  moins  parfaites,  elle  a  suc- 
cessivement  degenere,  et  presque  enti&rment  tombee  par  la  negligenc? 
et  le  defaut  de  lumiere  des  proprietaires,  qui  n'ont  apporte  aucun  soin 
dans  le  choix  des  sujets  propres  a  la  perp^tuer  dans  le  pays. 

"II  serait  cependant  d'autant  plus  important  de  perfectionner  cette 
race,  qu'elle  est  aujourd'hui  tres  recherchee  des  departements  voisins, 
et  qu'elle  prend  une  branche  de  commerce  trSs  avantageuse  pour 
le  pays. 

"La  possession  de  I'Algerie  par  la  France  rend  extremement  facile 
I'importation  au  Perche  des  chevaux  arabes  de  la  race  de  "kadischi." 
Assurement  le  melange  des  ce  sang  avec  le  sang  percheron  produira 
les  memes  resultats  qu'aux  XI  et  XII  siecles. 

"Nous  formons  des  voeux  ardents  pour  que  quelques  riches  pro- 
prietaires du  Perche  prennent  I'initiative  dans  cette  honorable  entre- 
prise,  afin  que  la  province,  qui  a  procure  k  la  France  cette  belle  race 
chevaline  et  qui  a  donne  son  nom,  ne  soit  pas  desherit^e  de  la  glorie 
de  ravoir  rendue  k  sa   purete  primitive," 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  49 

letter  has  been  made  the  basis  of  so  much  that  has 
been  handed  down  to  our  day  and  generation,  it  will 
now  be  of  interest  to  set  forth  the  discussion  which 
it  provoked  among  those  w^ho  were  present.  Par- 
ticular attention  should  be  given  to  the  remarks  of 
M.  Gautier,  whose  standing  at  the  time  may  be  fairly 
gauged  from  the  fact  that  he  not  only  opened  but 
closed  the  discussion.    We  again  quote  verbatim: 

''M.  Gautier  said  he  had  no  knowledge  of  any 
documents  which  would  cause  one  to  think,  like  the 
Abbe  Fret,  that  the  Percheron  was  descended  from 
the  Arab;  or  from  the  Brittany  horse,  as  some  others 
thought.  As  for  himself,  he  had  the  conviction  that 
this  breed  (the  Percheron)  was  a  primitive  type, 
and  that  the  introduction  of  the  English  half-blood, 
as  a  sire,  had  brought  in  modifications  rendering  it 
suitable  for  an  army  horse. 

''M.  Blanpre  thought  that  the  crossing  of  Per- 
cheron mares  with  half-blood  horses  had  caused  bad 
results.  The  half-blood  is  a  mixed  breed,  and  it 
would  be  contrary  to  all  principles  to  admit  a  horse 
incapable  of  impressing  character  on  its  products. 
He  thought  that  the  conservation  in  the  region  of 
fine  Percheron  stallions,  carefully  selected,  suitable, 
if  one  wished,  of  rendering  the  breed  lighter  and 
liberally  encouraged  by  government  prizes  would  be 
the  best  means  of  maintaining  the  horse  of  this  breed 
as  a  commercial  proposition.  The  crossing  with 
stallions  that  did  not  show  any  primitive  type  had 
nearly  destroyed  all  the  French  breeds. 

''M.  Le  Roy  thought  that  there  was  too  much  dis- 
similarity between  the  Thoroughbred  stallion  and 
the  Percheron  mare  to  give  any  hope  of  success  in 
such  a  combination.  He  feared,  also,  that  the  tenant 
farmers  would  be  afraid  of  the  lightness  of  the  Thor- 


50  A    IIISTOKV    OI'    Tin:    I'KKCIJEROX    ITORPE 

ouglibnMl,  ,'111(1  that  llic  liall'-bUxxl  was  preferable, 
for  if  tlicy  gave  their  marcs  to  a  'I'horouglibred 
stallion  certain  (jnalities  wouhl  be  inherited  from  tlie 
sire  and  otiiers  from  tiie  dam,  which  would  result  in 
'  misfits. ' 

"M.  de  Clincliemps  spoke  warmly  against  any 
crossing-  with  the  demi-sang.  .  .  .  He  thought 
that  it  was  necessary,  just  as  had  been  done  by  the 
English,  to  go  back  to  the  source  and  buy  Arabian 
horses  as  stallions,  an  opinion  in  harmony  with  all 
principles,  confirmed  by  experience  and  crowaied  by 
success  in  the  case  of  our  neighbours  (the  English). 

''M.  Gantier  speaking  about  the  origin  of  the  Per- 
clieron  horse  said:    'The  origin  is  still  within  the 

o 

domain  of  probabilities.  Every  man,  who  has  up  to 
this  time  written  on  French  and  foreign  breeds,  says 
that  the  Percheron  is  of  Brittany  origin.  As  proof, 
nothing.  Each  writer,  in  consulting  his  predecessor, 
has  reproduced  the  same  opinion.  One  writer  has 
said  that  the  Percheron  was  of  English  origin. 
Others  say  that  the  Percheron  is  descended  from  the 
Arab.  For  me,  if  I  may  give  my  opinion:  I  believe 
that  the  Percheron  is  a  primitive  breed,  singularly 
altered,  improved  l)y  crossings  at  different  periods 
w^tli  Arabian  and  English  horses." 

"The  Legendary  Kadischi." — It  will  be  observed 
that  the  w^riter  of  this  letter  is  careful  to  set  forth 
that  what  he  tells  of  the  introduction  of  the  Arabian 
blood  rests,  not  upon  any  existing  records,  but  on 
"tradition"  handed  down  among  "the  manor  houses 
of  the  low^er  Perche."  This  then  is  the  foundation 
upon  which  the  Arabian  story  rests.  It  has  been 
generally  accepted;  and  yet  not  all  the  intelligent 
men  of  The  Perche  have  given  it  credence,  as  is  evi- 
denced by  the  follow^ing  from  the  "Annuaires  Nor- 


PEKCHERON    PROTOTYPES  51 

mandes"  of  1909,  in  the  report  of  an  agricultural 
show  held  at  Mortagne  where  one  of  the  local  nota- 
bles, M.  de  Longuemar,  who  made  the  principal 
discourse,  said  in  speaking  of  the  origin  of  the  Per- 
clieron : 

''The  very  nature  of  the  soil  itself,  the  environ- 
ment— that  is  the  primordial  reason;  much  more  cer- 
tain than  the  hypothetical  crossings  of  the  native 
mares  with  Arabian  stallions,  the  legendary  'ka- 
dischi.'  " 

Modern  Arab  Crossing  Not  Mentioned. — It  will 
also  be  observed  that  while  there  were  various  views 
expressed  relating  to  the  origin  and  crossing  of  the 
breed,  there  was  no  disposition  to  attach  special  im- 
portance to  the  Arabian  jjhase  of  the  proposition. 
It  will  also  be  noted  that  while  this  took  place  in 
1843,  no  reference  whatever  was  made  to  modifica- 
tions of  the  breed  by  the  use  about  1820  of  the  alleged 
Arabian  stallions  Godolphin  and  Gallipoly,  to  be  re- 
ferred to  further  on.  On  the  other  hand,  the  prob- 
ability of  remote  Oriental  crossings  was  apparently 
conceded,  a  fact  which  conforms  to  what  we  have 
already  intimated  in  preceding  pages  touching  the 
part  possibly  played  by  the  Oriental  blood  in  the 
production  of  the  gray  chargers  used  by  the  old 
French  nobility. 

Before  dismissing  this  reference  to  the  congress  of 
Mortagne  it  sliould  further  be  pointed  out  that  at 
the  time  when  it  was  held  the  army  was  a  large 
buyer  of  horses  in  this  district.  This  explains  the 
talk  about  crossing  with  stallions  of  lighter  types, 


52  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

with  a  view  towards  furnishing  horses  suitable  for 
military  purposes.  In  strong  opposition  to  this,  how- 
ever, we  find  the  farmers  themselves,  the  mare  men 
of  The  Perclie,  who  were  best  able  to  judge  for  them- 
selves what  kind  of  a  horse  was  best  adapted  for 
their  own  service.  They  preferred  a  heavier  type, 
and,  as  we  shall  show  in  another  chapter,  the  founda- 
tions of  the  modern  heavy-draft  Percheron  had  been 
firmly  laid  by  the  use  of  government-approved  stal- 
lions, mostly  of  gray  color  and  in  many  cases  stand- 
ing 16  hands  and  over  in  height,  upwards  of  25  years 
prior  to  the  holding  of  this  congress. 

Is  the  Percheron  a  Primitive  Type? — We  draw 
special  attention  to  M.  Gautier's  expression  of  his 
belief  that  the  Percheron  was  in  reality  a  primitive 
breed,  from  time  to  time  crossed  with  other  types. 
We  do  this  for  the  purpose  of  introducing  at  this 
point  the  testimony  of  M.  Andre  Sanson,  late  Pro- 
fessor of  Zoologie  at  the  National  School  of  Agri- 
culture, Grignon,  France,  and  at  the  National  Insti- 
tute of  Agronomy,  Paris.  In  his  book,  '^L'Origine 
des  races  Francaises  de  chevaux,''  page  95,  Vol.  3, 
he  says : 

''The  Percheron  breed,  like  all  the  others,  is  con- 
temporaneous with  the  mammoth  of  the  alluvial.  It 
goes  back  to  the  Deluge,  and,  in  the  presence  of  such 
antiquity,  the  epoch  of  the  Crusades,  by  comparison, 
only  dates  from  yesterday. 

''The  Percheron  .  .  .  had  its  origin  in  the 
basin  of  the  Seine,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  we 
give  to  this  type  the  scientific  name  of  Sequanien, 


PERCHERON   PROTOTYPES  53 

derived  from  the  name  which  the  Seine  had  during 
the  Gallo-Romano  epoch/' 

He  then  goes  on  to  say: 

*'In  the  sandy  alluvial  deposits  of  the  Seine  Basin 
at  Grenelle,  so  rich  in  fossils,  several  skeletons  of 
horses  were  discovered  in  1868.  Among  these  was  a 
skull  almost  complete. 

''This  skull  (now  conserved  at  the  Museum  of 
Natural  History  at  Paris),  although  broken  at  the 
time  by  the  pick-axes  of  the  excavators,  has  been 
reconstituted  perfectly,  and  is  the  only  perfect  skull 
of  its  epoch  that  science  possesses,  and  as  such  is 
extremely  precious.  Having  been  enabled  to  exam- 
ine this  skull  before  it  was  restored,  we  were  struck 
by  the  resemblance  that  each  bone  had  to  the 
cranial  bones  of  the  Percheron  of  the  present  day. 
Since  then  a  methodical  comparison  of  the  two  skulls 
has  permitted  us  to  establish  their  complete  iden- 
tity." 

If  a  typical  Ethiopian  and  a  Chinaman  were  to  be 
buried  side  by  side,  skilled  anatomists  could  a 
thousand  years  hence  establish  their  complete  iden- 
tity by  an  examination  of  their  skulls  alone,  if  con- 
served intact.  It  is  said  that  the  race  of  any  given 
species  demonstrates  in  the  head,  more  than  in  any 
other  part  of  its  anatomy,  the  specific  characters  in- 
herent in  the  race.  Whenever  a  breed  has  been  ex- 
tensively crossed  with  another,  such  crossing  is  sup- 
posed to  divulge  itself  unmistakably,  to  the  trained 
eye,  in  a  modification  of  the  cranial  bones. 

The  Percheron  is  said  to  possess  a  dolichocephalic 
cranium.  The  Arabian  horse  is  decidedly  brachy- 
cephalic.   Among  other  dolichocephalic  equine  races 


54  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCIIERON   HORSE 

may  be  mentioned  the  old  Flemish  breed,  bnt  the 
median  depression  which  distinguished  the  Flemish 
horse  is  reported  to  be  absent  in  the  skull  of  the 
Percheron.  Further,  it  is  said  that  there  is  a  pecul- 
iarity about  the  head  of  the  Percheron  distinct  from 
all  other  breeds,  in  that  near  the  half-length  of  the 
frontal  bone  of  a  typical  Percheron  there  is  a  small 
re-entering  curve,  imparting  to  the  physiognomy  a 
specific  aspect. 

From  a  brochure  entitled,  "Les  Habitants  Primi- 
tifs  de  la  Basse  Orne,"  being  a  copy  of  a  lecture 
delivered  by  Dr.  E.  T.  Hamy  before  the  Association 
Frangaise  pour  rAdvancement  des  Science  at  the 
Congress  of  Rouen  in  1883,  we  learn  that  among  the 
human  and  animal  fossils  discovered  in  an  excava- 
tion made  at  the  bridge  of  Vaucelles  in  1787  was  a 
skull  of  a  horse  of  remote  prehistoric  antiquity.  This 
skull  was  pronounced  to  be  dolichocephalic,  and 
from  the  indications  of  the  surrounding  strata  it  was 
established  that  the  fossil  dated  from  the  Neolithic 
or  Polished  Stone  Age. 

Whatever  bearing  all  this  may  have  on  the  theory 
of  Arab  crossing  upon  the  mares  of  The  Perche  it 
gives  color  to  Gautier's  contention  at  Mortagne  as 
to  the  Percheron 's  being  a  primitive  type. 


LA  FERTE   BERNARD PLACE   SAINT   JULIEN. 


KOADWAY  LEADING  INTO  MORTAGNB. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE  KENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING  THE 
REVOLUTION. 

In  a  rare  old  book  publislied  at  Mortagne  in  1801, 
tlie  ninth  year  of  the  French  Republic,  we  find  these 
paragraphs : 

''The  breed  of  horses  known  as  the  Percheron  is 
destroyed;  it  is  absolutely  annihilated;  the  suppres- 
sion of  the  haras  has  contributed  to  its  dying  out. 
This  breed  was  precious  for  its  courage,  its  vigor, 
and  its  longevity.  It  was  more  valuable  for  its  wear- 
ing qualities  than  even  for  its  splendid  conforma- 
tion. It  had  excellent  hips,  fine  hocks,  round  in  rib, 
free-moving  shoulders — though  a  trifle  heavy — a 
neck  too  heavily  muscled,  a  head  a  little  coarse, 
perfect  legs  and  everlasting  feet. 

"Perhaps  the  Percheron  breed,  whose  qualities 
are,  without  doubt,  due  to  the  climate  and  character 
of  the  pastures,  can  be  reestablished  by  distributing 
the  best  stallions  all  over  the  district,  and  confiding 
them  to  the  care  of  rich  landowners  and  respectable 
farmers. ' ' 

The  first  paragraph  is  indeed  valuable  and  inter- 
esting for  its  description  of  the  Percheron  as  he 
existed  prior  to  the  great  Revolution.  ''Everlasting 
feet"  surely  constituted  the  best  of  all  foundations 
upon  which  to  reconstruct  a  breed  of  horses  that 
had  suffered  grievously  from  the  effects  of  inter- 
necine strife.    The  second  paragraph  of  course  con- 

(55) 


\ 

56  A    IIISTOHV   OF   TUK   I'KRCIIEKON    HORSE 

flicts  witli  the  first  in  that  it  shows  that  the  breed 
was  not  literally  "destroyed"  nor  "absolutely  anni- 
hilated/' because  the  author  points  the  way  whereby 
it  is  to  be  rehabilitated.  Evidently  Citizen  Fon- 
tenay,  who  used  this  strong  language,  merely  in- 
tended to  express,  with  Gallic  exuberance  of  lan- 
guage, a  feeling  of  overwhelming  regret  that  the 
native  race  had  been  so  grievously  injured.  The  refer- 
ence is  of  sufficient  importance,  as  leading  up  to  tlie 
modern  history  of  the  Percheron,  to  warrant  our 
making  it  the  starting-point  of  our  story  of  how  the 
old  breed  rose  Phoenix-like  from  the  fiery  ashes  of 
the  Bevolution,  and  was  transformed  from  a  race  of 
saddlers,  hunters  and  diligence  stock  into  the  mod- 
ern horse  "de  trait,"  or  heavy  draft.  The  increase 
in  weight  began  to  be  clearly  manifested,  as  we  shall 
soon  relate,  around  1820. 

Delestang  and  His  History. — So  far  as  we  are 
aware,  no  writer  on  the  Percheron  horse  has  quoted, 
or  even  mentioned,  the  author  of  the  first  really  im- 
portant publication  or  document  in  which  the  word 
"Percheron"  is  used,  as  applied  to  the  native  breed 
of  horses  in  The  Perche.  We  refer  to  the  work 
entitled,  "Essai  de  Chorographic  du  IV  Arrondisso- 
ment  du  Department  de  I'Orne.  Chef  lieu;  Mor- 
tagne.  Thermidor,  an  IX,"  printed  in  July,  1801, 
and  written  by  M.  Delestang,  the  first  Under-Prefect 
of  the  Arrondissement  of  Mortagne,  a  division  cor- 
responding practically  to  a  county  in  the  United 
States.  True,  Gallier,  in  his  work  on  the  French 
breeds,  has  some  idea  that  such  a  volume  exists  be- 


THE   KEXAISSAXCE  FOLLOWING    THE   KEVOLLTION  0/ 

cause  he  reproduces  a  i^aragrapli  from  the  Abbe 
Fret  relating  to  the  Percherous  and  adds,  "This  is 
equally  the  opinion  of  Odolant-Desnos,  first  Under- 
Prefect  of  Mortagne."  Xow  Odolant-Desnos  is  one 
of  the  great  historians  of  The  Perche,  but  he  was 
not  "first  Under-Prefect  of  Mortagne, "  nor  indeed 
of  anywhere  else,  but  liyed  at  Alencon  and  was  by 
profession  a  doctor  of  medicine.  And  in  passing  it 
may  be  remarked  that  nearly  all  French  writers  haye 
reproduced  the  paragraph  on  the  Percheron  horse  in 
the  Abbe  Fret's  history,  but  none  seems  to  haye 
been  cognizant  of  the  fact  that  the  priest  had  copied 
it,  almost  word  for  Ayord,  from  Delestang's  book 
which  had  been  published  about  30  years  preyiously. 
Delestang  had  procured  his  information  from  the 
best  local  sources  ayailable,  inyiting  the  coopera- 
tion and  collaboration  of  the  citizens  of  Mortagne 
and  the  farmers  of  the  surrounding  country,  and 
the  quoted  paragraphs  with  which  this  chapter 
opens,  he  obtained  from  a  "Memoire  sur  1 'agricul- 
ture par  le  citoj^en  Fontenay. "  Delestang  was  the 
author  of  seyeral  books,  largely  compilations  of 
statistics  relating  to  his  district,  all  of  which  was  in 
The  Perche.  These  are  full  of  interest,  and  yet  they 
seem  to  haye  escaped  modern  writers  on  the  Per- 
cheron horse.  On  page  17  of  his  "Xotice  Statistique 
de  la  sous  prefecture  de  Mortagne,"  published  in 
1801  under  the  head  of  "Animal  Production,"  he 
says : 

"This  consists  principally  of  horses,  cattle   and 
sheep.     The  horses,  known  under  the  name  of  Per- 


58  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

clierons,  were  celebrated  as  saddlers  and  hunters, 
but  tliey  were  employed  chiefly  as  diligence  and 
express  horses.  There  are  about  13,520  horses, 
mares  and  colts  [in  his  district,  of  course].  Included 
in  this  number  5,200  horses  and  5,280  mares  are 
employed  in  agricultural  work;  1,380  horses  and 
mares  are  employed  in  other  work  than  agriculture; 
and  1,560  are  colts  and  fillies." 

Lamagdelaine's  Prizes. — In  his  "Chorographie," 
published  in  1803,  Delestang  speaks  again  of  the 
Percheron  horse,  using  in  part  expressions  similar 
to  thos^  he  had  previously  employed.  But  from 
this  it  appears  that  it  was  afterwards  discovered 
that  conditions  were  not  nearly  so  bad  as  Citizen 
Fontenay  had  originally  stated,  for  under  a  caption, 
''Additional  Information,"  Delestang  says: 

''The  breed  of  horses  called  Percherons  owes  its 
restoration  to  the  solicitude  of  the  Prefect  of  the 
Department,  J.  V.  A.  Lamagdelaine,  who,  desirous 
of  regenerating  this  breed,  has  begun  to  offer  prizes 
to  the  land  owners  and  farmers  who  present,  at  the 
fair  of  Dec.  11, 1803,  the  finest  brood  mares  and  male 
colts  of  the  Percheron  breed.  These  prizes  will  be 
publicly  distributed,  on  the  fair  ground,  by  the  Pre- 
fect. This  fair,  called  St.  Andrew's,  is  renowned  for 
the  quantity  of  colts  sold.  The  fair  of  St.  Martin, 
held  at  Laigle,  is  also  famous  as  a  great  colt  fair. 
The  commerce  in  horses  at  all  the  fairs  of  the 
Arrondissement  of  Mortagne  is  valued  at  about 
550,000  pounds  sterling,  and  that  of  the  markets  at 
about  £70,000  weekly." 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  the  purchasing  power  of 
money  at  that  epoch  was  considerably  greater  than 
at  present,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  restoration  had 


TTTE  RENAISSANCE   FOLLOWING   THE   REVOLT  TION  59 

not  only  progressed  rapidly,  but  that  the  type  was 
in  great  demand  from  other  districts,  as  the  major 
part  of  the  product  was  sold  to  bnyers  hailing  from 
ontside  points. 

In  1813,  the  "Conseil  General  dn  Department 
d'Enre-et-Loir"  began  to  offer  1,000  francs  a  year 
divided  between  the  Nogent  and  Conrtalain  fairs. 
At  each  two  prizes,  one  of  300  francs  and  another 
of  200  francs,  were  offered  for  the  finest  brood  mare 
and  filly  respectively.  Abont  the  same  epoch  Orne 
began  to  offer  1,600  francs  at  the  fairs  of  Alencon 
and  Le  Pin,  bnt  only  Normandy  horses  are  spoken 
of  at  these  fairs.  As  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  the 
Normandy  mares  that  were  kept  almost  exclnsively 
near  these  latter  places  at  this  period,  and  these 
were  bred  to  the  demi-sang,  English  and  other 
blooded  saddle  stallions  kept  for  that  pnrpose.  La 
Sarthe  also  began  abont  this  time  by  giving  1,200 
francs  in  bonnses. 

A  Draft  Type  at  Montdoubleau. — A  complaint  was 

voiced  from  the  vicinity  of  Montdonblean  in  1818 

that  there  were  not  enongh  stallions  of  the  heavier 

sort  available,   showing  that  the   objection  of  the 

farmers  to  the  gov^emment's  policy  of  favoring  the 

lighter  types  was  even  then  ofticially  noticed.     We 

qnote  from  the  ''Deliberations  dn  Conseil  General 

de  Loir-et-Cher"  for  1818,  nnder  the  head,  "Elevage 

des  Chevanx": 

''The  enconragement  given  to  this  class  of  im- 
provement (the  qnestion  of  horses)  offers  in  general 
satisfactory  resnlts.     The  canton  of  Montdonblean, 


60  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

however,  whose  mares  are  only  suitable  for  either 
heavy  cavalry  or  draft  purposes,  would  like  to  find 
at  the  depot  of  Blois,  enough  stallions  analogous  to 
the  heavy  type  of  mares  found  in  the  said  region; 
in  default  of  which  the  farmers  w^ill  procure  stallions 
to  serve  their  mares  wherever  they  can,  in  many 
cases  sires  which  serve  a  great  number  of  mares, 
because  the  service  fees  of  these  stallions  are  inferior 
to  those  charged  by  the  government. 

*'The  liberty  of  owning  a  stallion  or  recurring  to 
that  of  one's  neighbour  cannot  textually  be  de- 
stroyed; therefore  it  is  necessary  to  combat  this  state 
of  things  by  competition,  and  it  is  only  by  offering 
to  the  said  canton,  eminently  suitable  for  horse 
breeding,  sufficient  stallions  appropriate  for  its  par- 
ticular class  of  mares  and  at  the  regular  service  fee 
obtaining  in  the  region,  that  one  can  succeed  in  de- 
stroying the  custom  which  has  given  rise  to  the 
necessity     .     .     .     etc." 

Unverified  Tradition  Exploded. — Whether  the 
horses  captured  at  the  battle  of  Tours  from  the 
Saracens  furnished  the  basis  of  horse-breeding  in 
The  Perche  or  not  none  can  say.  That  the  Crusaders 
brought  back  Arabian  stallions  from  Palestine  to 
The  Perche  is  a  fairly  reasonable  assumption,  al- 
though there  seem  to  be  no  authentic  records  to  that 
effect.  That  the  gray  and  white  chargers  popular 
in  France  during  the  Middle  Ages  probably  carried 
Oriental  blood  is  of  course  possible.  We  now  come, 
however,  to  a  comparatively  recent  phase  of  the 
Arabian  proposition  which  seems  to  demand  special 
attention.  We  refer  to  the  commonly-accepted  state- 
ment that  the  modem  Percheron  owes  not  only  a 
great  part  of  his  excellence,  but  the  gray  color  as 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  61 

well,  to  the  extensive  use  of  ' '  two  Arab  horses  from 
the  stud  stables  of  Pin — Godolphin  and  Gallipoly." 
The  expression  quoted  is  from  "Le  Cheval  Per- 
cheron ' '  by  M.  Chas.  du  Hays,  the  generally  accred- 
ited modern  historian  of  the  Percheron  in  France. 
He  says: 

"These  two  valuable  stock-getters,  both  gray, 
again  gave  tone  and  ardor  to  the  Percheron  race,  and 
transformed  definitely  into  gray  horses  the  stock 
of  the  entire  country,  which  had,  it  is  said,  become 
less  uniform,  and  of  all  colors. ' ' 

It  seems  incredible  that  a  writer  so  generally  well- 
informed  could  have  been  in  error  in  a  matter  of 
such  historical  importance.  The  story  of  Godolphin 
and  Gallipoly  has  been  adopted  and  incorporated 
into  practically  every  work  dealing  Avith  the  Per- 
cheron that  has  appeared  during  the  past  fifty  years. 
None  has  doubted,  none  disputed,  probably  because 
of  the  rank  and  standing  of  the  author.  And  yet  his 
positive  statements  in  other  essential  points  have 
already  been  denied  point  blank  by  the  Percheron 
Society  of  France. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Du  Ha^^s  states  that  both 
of  these  horses  were  Arabs,  and  that  both  were  gray. 
He  also  locates  them  definitely  as  coming  from  the 
goveniment  stud  at  Le  Pin.  He  also  says  that  they 
stood  at  the  chateau  of  Count  de  Mallart  near 
Belleme,  and  places  the  date  at  "  towards '^  or 
"about''  1820.  This  latter  statement  seemed  to  us 
to  indicate  a  little  uncertainty  in  regard  to  the  date, 
at  least.    With  no  other  idea,  therefore,  than  merely 


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TS   .5 


62  A  HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

undertaking  to  reduce  to  specific  terms  a  proposition 
of  such  interest  to  students  of  Perclieron  history,  we 
have  had  the  government  archives  at  Paris  searched 
in  quest  of  details  as  to  this  supposedly  epoch- 
making  event.  The  results  of  this  research  are 
amazingly  at  variance  with  the  above  statements. 

Permission  was  kindly  given  by  the  authorities 
not  only  to  examine  all  the  records,  but  to  make 
photographs  of  the  original  entries  in  substantiation 
of  the  facts  now  to  be  set  forth.  And  lest  any  ques- 
tion of  mistaken  identity  be  raised,  let  us  say  at  the 
outset  that  the  two  stallions  bearing  these  names, 
concerning  which  w^e  shall  now  give  full  particulars, 
are  the  only  horses  possessing  those  names  men- 
tioned in  the  list  of  stallions  at  Le  Pin  in  all  its  his- 
tory. 

Godolphin  an  English  Saddler. — We  first  meet 
Godolphin  at  the  stallion  inspection  of  1810.  The 
record  may  be  thus  translated: 

*'No.  20,  Godolphin;  born  1802;  height  1  meter,  54 
cm.  (about  15.1  hands);  from  the  stable  of  Count  de 
Maulke,  Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  Observations:  good 
horse,  but  marked  at  the  croup  M.;  inferior  to  the 
preceding  horse  in  the  list  (also  a  Mecklenburg- 
Strelitz  horse).  Sire:  Mock  Doctor,  English  blood 
horse;  Dam:  Unknown  English  mare.  When  entered: 
12  July,  1807.     Description:  Saddle  horse. '^ 

It  appears  that  he  was  secured  for  the  stud  by  M. 
D'Avangour,  who  also  brought  in  several  other 
Mecklenburg  horses  in  the  same  year,  1807.  All  these 
were  classed  as  ''saddle  horses. '^  At  the  inspection 
of  1812  we  find  the  following  observations  relating 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  63 

to  Godolpliin:  "Figure  commune;  jarrets  droits  et 
mauvais ;  vaillaine  croup ;  il  trot  mal.  (Conformation 
ordinary;  hocks  bad  and  straight;  ugly  croup; 
he  trots  badly.)  The  inspection  of  1813  revealed 
that  he  was  "common  horse  and  without  quality.'^ 
Inspection  of  1815  was  followed  by  this  report: 
"Grodolphin,  Mecklenburg  saddle  horse;  nothing  dis- 
tinguished about  him;  low  croup;  strong  limbs; 
action  passable." 

At  the  inspection  of  1819  we  find  this  of  Godol- 
pliin :  ' '  This  horse  has  ceased  to  serve  at  the  Haras 
du  Pin;  his  croup  is  common;  middlepiece  well-made; 
head  good;  action  altogether  bad.  To  be  deplaced. 
I  propose  to  send  him  to  Abbeville.'^  This  horse 
does  not  appear  again  in  the  inspections  of  succeed- 
ing years.  His  color  is  given  as  "alezan  dore'* 
(golden  chestnut) !  It  appears,  therefore,  that  it  was 
not  until  after  1818  that  Godolphin  ceased  to  serve 
at  Le  Pin.  He  was  then  sixteen  years  old,  and  was 
about  to  be  "deplaced"  as  no  longer  suitable,  and 
it  was  proposed  that  he  be  sent  to  Abbeville  in  the 
department  of  La  Somme.* 


*Lest  a  query  be  raised  in  this  connection  as  to  possible  con- 
fusion with  the  celebrated  stallion  Godolphin  Arabian,  of  English 
fame,  the  following-  particulars  are  submitted.  Attention  is  called 
to  the  dates.  These,  of  course,  show  that  the  Godolphin  Arabian 
died  long-  years  before  the  Godolphin  of  our  story  came  upon  the 
scene. 

Godolphin  Arabian,  like  the  Byerly  Turk  and  the  Darley 
Arabian,  was  one  of  the  main  sources  of  improvement  which  led 
to  the  establishment  of  the  Thoroughbred  as  a  breed.  His  earlier 
career  is  shrouded  in  more  or  less  mystery,  but  it  is  fairly  well 
established  that  he  was  a  Barb  of  rather  common  origin  and 
appearance,  and  not  a  true  Arabian.  Though  there  is  no  authentic 
account  of  his  foaling,  he  is  supposed  to  have  seen  the  light  in 
Barbary  in  1724,  his  age  having  been  clearly  stated  as  seven  in 
1731.     It  is  not  known  who  originally   took  him  from   his  native 


64  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

Gallipoly  a  Small  Turkish  Saddle  Horse. — This 
stallion  first  comes  to  light  in  government  records 
at  the  inspection  of  1813.  We  qnote,  and  again  give 
a  photographic  reproduction,  from  the  original  docu- 
ments : 

"Gallipoly,  Turk;  light  speckled  gray;  height,  1 
meter,  50  cm:  classification,  saddle  horse:  sire,  a 
Turk;  dam,  a  Turk;  born  1803;  entered  haras  Nov. 
23,  1812.  By  whom  bought:  sent  by  the  Minister. 
Observations:  good  blood  horse. '^ 

Here  we  have  a  speckled-gra^^  saddle  stallion  bare- 
ly 15  hands  high,  and  ten  years  old  at  date  of  entry! 
He  was  not  an  Arab  and  scarcely  a  type,  one  would 
say,  to  build  up  the  Percherons  "around  1820," 
among  which,  as  we  shall  shortly  show  from  these 
same  authenticated  records,  there  were  many  big 
approved  gray  stallions  in  actual  service  and  found- 
ing the  modern  draft  type  from  within  the  limits  of 
the  native  breed  itself. 

To  resume  Gallipoly 's  record:  At  the  inspection 
of  1815  he  is  referred  to  in  complimentary  terms  as 
an  "excellent  stallion,  well  conserved;  produces  well, 
good  action. '*  It  must  be  remembered  that  these 
inspectors  had  ever  in  mind  the  requirements  of  the 

country,  but  it  is  said  that  a  Mr.  Coke,  an  Ensrlishman,  being-  in 
Paris,  was  attracted  by  the  appearance  of  the  stallion  in  the 
street  and  bought  him  despite  the  fact  that  the  menial  labor  of 
hauling-  a  cart  was  then  being  exacted  of  him.  At  first  he  was 
not  much  thought  of  in  England,  where  Mr.  Coke  gave  him  to  a 
Mr.  Williams,  who  in  turn  presented  him  to  tlie  Earl  of  Godolphin. 
Godolphin  Arabian  was  a  brown-bay  in  color,  of  about  15  hands, 
with  an  unusual  development  of  crest  and  some  white  on  his  off 
hind  heel.  He  seems  to  have  had  but  the  three  owners  in  Eng- 
land, passing-  each  time  as  a  gift.  From  the  Earl  Godolphin  he 
took  his  erroneous  title,  and  in  his  possession  he  died  at  Gog- 
magog  in  Cambridgeshire  in  1753.  being  then,  as  gauged  by  his 
seven-year-old  mouth   in   1731,  in  his   29th  year. 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  65 

army  and  not  of  the  farm.  After  four  years  more 
of  service  we  find  liim  still  at  Le  Pin  nnder  the  in- 
spection in  1819.  Of  the  little  old  horse  it  w^as  then 
said:  "Well  bred  and  plenty  of  blood,  very  pretty 
head,  short  coupling;  the  buttocks  are  short,  and  the 
tail  not  well  attached;  he  trots  liglitl}^  and  with 
vigor;  he  is  too  small  and  unsuitable  for  le  Pin.  To 
be  deplaced.  I  propose  to  send  him  to  Brittany.'' 
The  game  old  saddler  is  still  there,  however,  the 
following  year,  but  is  going  to  be  sent  away,  and 
that  is  the  last  we  hear  of  him.  Too  small  to  get 
cavalry  remounts,  and  yet  regenerator  and  proto- 
type of  the  modern  Percheron!  Is  it  possible?  Is 
it  probable?  And  yet  how  could  Du  Hays  make  a 
mistake  in  a  matter  to  which  he  attaches  so  much 
importance?  Did  he  or  any  of  his  successors  take 
the  trouble,  as  we  have,  to  delve  among  those  old 
dusty  documents?     Perhaps  not. 

There  were  many  other  Mecklenburg-Strelitz  sad- 
dle horses  and  horses  of  English  breeding,  as  well 
as  Normandy  saddle  horses,  at  Le  Pin  at  this  time. 
What  w^as  their  mission!  Undoubtedly  to  serve  the 
Normandy  and  demi-sang  mares  in  the  Merlerault 
country,  which  was  full  of  light  mares  at  that  time 
producing  cavalry  colts. 

Error  Easily  Perpetuated. — It  is  not  so  remarkable 
that  we  find  so  many  articles  and  treatises  on  the 
Percheron  breed  wherein  the  Arabian  blood  is  cred- 
ited with  having  wrought  important  changes  as  late 
as  1820,  by  writers  who  apparently  either  from  lack 
of  time  or  means  or  other  reasons  have  not  under- 


66  A   HISTORY   OP   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

taken  to  verify  the  statement,  since  we  find  in  the 
preface  of  the  first  volume  of  the  Percheron  Stud 
Book  of  France  the  following  reference.  It  will  be 
observed,  however,  that  the  Percheron  society  was 
by  no  means  in  accord  with  Charles  Du  Hays  on 
other  vital  particulars.  We  quote  from  the  stud 
book : 

"It  is  known  that  the  finest  specimens  of  the  Per- 
cheron breed  existing  today  can  be  directly  attrib- 
uted to  the  regenerating  influences  of  the  Arab,  the 
primitive  horse,  the  first  origin  of  the  Percheron 
breed.  The  authorized  historian  and  the  faithful 
friend  of  the  Percheron  breed,  Charles  Du  Hays, 
supported,  many  years  ago,  this  doctrine.  This 
author  has  shown  his  great  knowledge  of  horse- 
breeding  in  establishing  that  Jean-le-Blanc,  the 
horse  which  excited  so  much  his  admiration,  was  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  Arabian  stallion  Gallipoly, 
which  was  owned  by  the  Haras  du  Pin.  This  horse 
has  been  the  most  powerful  element  in  perfecting  the 
Percheron  breed  since  this  epoch.  Nearly  all  the 
most  highly  estimated  stallions  may  be  considered  as 
the  direct  descendants  of  this  horse. 

"The  Perche  owes  much  to  M.  Du  Hays  for  his 
precious  teachings,  and  we  feel  that  we  cannot  do 
better  for  our  own  cause  and  at  the  same  time  render 
the  latter  merited  homage  than  to  cite,  in  this  first 
volume  of  the  stud  book,  his  ideas  on  the  Percheron 
breed  and  its  development. 

"However,  we  would  like  to  state  that  Charles  Du 
Hays  has  committed  a  grave  error  in  one  of  the 
passages  of  his  book,  page  45,  in  saying  that  the 
Perche  threw  its  barriers  wide  open  to  all  the  big 
mares  that  came  along  in  order  to  make  the  breed 
more  weighty.    On  page  47,  he  also  states  that  Brit- 


NOGEXT-LE-ROTROU— RUE    DE    LA    CHARRONNERIE. 


NOGENT-LE-ROTROU— RUE    SAINT    HILAIRE. 


THE  RENAISSANCE   FOLEOWINf;    THE   REVOLUTION  Ctl 

tany  draft,  Picardy,  Caucliois  and  Boiilonnais  stocks 
have  been  employed.  We  regret  that  we  are  obliged 
to  refute  these  involuntary  errors  on  the  part  of  the 
honorable  writer,  avIio  has  been  deceived  by  false  in- 
dications. The  Percheron  breed  has  not  been  en- 
larged in  size  except  by  its  own  blood,  just  as  we 
shall  be  able  to  prove  by  a  notice  on  the  Percheron 
breed  which  we  shall  publish  later." 

We  shall  shortly  provide  the  proof  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  look  to  either  Godolphin  or  Gallipoly, 
nor  indeed  to  any  other  out-crossing,  to  account  for 
the  pre-stud-book  Percheron  and  his  color.  He  was 
big  and  he  was  gray  at  the  very  time  these  saddle 
horses  were  in  service.  In  the  meantime  it  need 
only  be  said  that  those  who  incorporated  this  "tra- 
dition" into  the  initial  volume  of  the  stud  book  are 
not  to  be  faulted  for  so  doing.  The  story  was  given 
currency  by  a  writer  who  knew  and  loved  the  Per- 
cheron, and  who  would  not  knowingly  mislead  any- 
body in  respect  to  their  derivation.  There  was  none 
to  deny  or  disprove  it.  Du  Hays  was  unquestionably 
sincere  in  his  belief  in  the  tales  someone  had  told 
him  as  to  these  horses.  The  Societe  Hippique  Per- 
cheronne  had  no  special  reason  for  doubting  the 
truth  of  the  statements  made.  At  the  time  of  the 
publication  of  the  iirst  stud  book,  its  sponsors  were 
simply  seeking  to  place  on  record  the  names  of  latter- 
day  breeding  horses.  They  very  naturally  did  not 
undertake  any  detailed  investigations  touching  a 
matter  so  remote  and  of  purely  academic  interest. 
In  other  words,  they  were  not  writing  history;  they 
were  making  it. 


68  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

Jean-le-Blanc. — In  the  first  volume  of  the  French 
Stud  Book  is  the  following  entry: 

"Jean-le-Blanc,  white,  No.  739;  born  in  Orne  about 
1823  or  1824;  owned  by  M.  Miard,  Sr.,  Villiers-en 
Quelle  (Orne).  It  is  to  this  remarkable  stallion, 
more  than  any  other,  that  we  owe  a  great  improve- 
ment of  the  breed.  He  was  recognized  as  a  true 
Percheron,  and,  nevertheless,  was  a  descendant  of 
the  famous  Arab  stallion  Gallipoly,  of  the  Haras  du 
Pin,  that  stood  at  the  chateau  of  Coesme,  near 
Belleme.  (For  further  information  on  this  remark- 
able horse  see  the  book,  '  Cheval  Percheron, '  Charles 
Du  Hays.) 

"Jean-le-Blanc  died  at  the  advanced  age  of  32 
years,  exempt  from  all  blemish.  In  going  through 
this  book  one  will  find  a  great  number  of  horses 
raised  in  The  Perche  during  the  last  50  years  that 
had  Jean-le-Blanc  as  ancestor.  This  fact  demon- 
strates that  the  superiority  to  which  the  Percheron 
breed  has  attained,  surpassing  all  other  draft  breeds 
in  excellence,  is  due  in  a  great  part  to  the  regenerat- 
ing influence  of  tlie  Arab,  fortified  by  consanguineous 
and  judicious  mating.'^ 

At  the  very  time  this  entry  was  being  made  there 
were  data  lying  buried  under  piles  of  other  matter 
at  the  Ministry  of  Commerce — the  central  Bureau 
of  the  Haras  was  formerly  under  the  administration 
of  that  ministry  previous  to  admitting  the  Minister 
of  Agriculture  to  cabinet  rank — that  would  have 
overturned  these  unsubstantiated  but  accepted  pre- 
sumptions. At  least,  there  seems  no  other  construc- 
tion to  be  placed  upon  the  facts  we  have  adduced. 
Let  us  recapitulate: 

The  Evidence  Summarized. — We  have  shown  by 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  69 

an  examination  of  tlie  original  documents  of  tlie  in- 
spections of  the  Haras  du  Pin,  and  by  photographing 
them,  that  neither  Gallipoly  nor  Godolphin  was  an 
Arab,  Gallipoly  being  a  small  Turkish  saddle  horse, 
and  Godolphin  a  Mecklenburg-Strelitz  saddle  horse 
of  English  breeding.  Further,  that  far  from  Godol- 
phin being  a  "gray,"  he  was  a  "golden  chestnut." 
We  are  told  that  these  two  horses  went  to  Coesme, 
near  Belleme,  in  1818  and  following  years.  Neither 
documents  nor  deductions  are  attested  in  proof.  The 
facts  are,  that  in  1818  both  of  these  stallions  were 
still  in  service  at  the  haras.  Godolphin  was  then 
16  years  old  and  Gallipoly  w^as  15  years  old.  In  1819 
at  the  annual  inspection  we  read  that  Godolphin 
"has  ceased  to  serve  at  Le  Pin,"  and  that  he  is 
going  to  be  "deplaced"  as  no  longer  suitable,  it 
being  proposed  to  send  him  to  Abbeville  (Depart- 
ment of  La  Somme).  In  the  same  year,  1819, 
Gallipoly  is  going  to  be  "deplaced"  as  no  longer 
suitable.  It  is  proposed  to  send  him  to  Brittany. 
But  in  the  following  year  we  find  the  name  of 
Gallipoly  still  on  the  list  of  stallions  doing  service 
at  Le  Pin,  although  the  name  of  Godolphin  is  absent. 
After  1820  we  never  hear  of  Gallipoly  again;  he  is 
then  17  years  old,  and  has  probably  been  sent  to 
Brittany. 

So  far  as  the  statement  that  these  two  stallions 
were  the  means  of  giving  the  gray  color  to  the  Per- 
cheron  breed  is  concerned,  all  one  has  to  do  to  demon- 
strate such  a  fallacy  is  to  read  the  accounts  of  the 
approved   heavy  draft   stallions   serving   simultan- 


/()  A    HISTORY    OF   THE   PERCIIERON    HORSE 

eoiisly  all  over  The  Percho,  beginning  ahonl  the  year 
1820,  full  pai'ticnlars  as  to  which  will  |)resently  be 
given.  Practically  all  these  stallions  were  dajjijle- 
gray  in  color,  and  they  are  all  classed  as  "Perche- 
ron."  If  either  of  the  two  stallions  mentioned  had 
been  nsed  on  Percheron  mares  the  colts  wonld  cer- 
tainly have  been  smaller  in  size  than  their  dams, 
whereas  the  general  tendency  at  this  epoch  all  over 
The  Perclie,  following  the  general  prosperity  and 
bnsy  times  after  the  Eevolntion,  was  to  improve  the 
weight  and  statnre  of  draft  horses  to  meet  the  great 
demand  for  heavy  horses  for  agricnltnral  and  indns- 
trial  and  commercial  pnrposes.  Then,  again,  if 
Gallipoly  was  sent  away  as  being  "too  small"  as  a 
saddle  stallion,  is  it  possible  that  snch  a  horse  wonld 
be  fonnd  large  enongh  and  strong  enough  at  17  years 
old  to  sire  heavy  draft  colts? 

If  we  could  find  any  evidence  that  would  assist  us 
in  deducing  that  either  of  these  two  stallions  was 
used  to  ameliorate  the  Percheron  breed,  or  even  used 
on  real  Percheron  mares  at  all,  we  should  be  glad 
to  support  such  a  hypothesis,  especially  when  we 
consider  the  fact  that  such  statements  have  been 
accepted  and  given  official  countenance  for  so  long 
a  period.  As  it  is,  we  can  only  say  that  if  these 
two  horses  had  not  been  given  prominence  by  Du 
Hays  as  "Arabs" — to  follow  up  the  latter 's  accept- 
ance of  the  Abbe  Fret's  traditions  respecting  the 
Arabian  stallions  of  the  Crusades — they  would  prob- 
ably never  have  been  mentioned  in  connection  with 
the  Percheron  breed. 


THE   RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  71 

The  Breed  "Modifies  Itself." — In  a  memoir  writ- 
ten in  1883,  M.  Michel  Fardouet,  one  of  the  dis- 
tinguished breeders  of  his  time,  and  the  tirst 
President  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  France,  pre- 
sented an  absolutely  correct  statement  concerning 
the  development  of  the  heavy-weight  Percheron  of 
modern  days.  Although  Avithout  facts,  names  and 
particulars  to  sustain  his  assertions,  and  admittedly 
resting  some  of  them  upon  remarks  he  had  heard  his 
father  make  many  years  previously,  M.  Fardouet 
could  not  have  done  better  had  he  possessed — 
though  apparently  he  did  not — a  copy  of  the  old 
government  records  which  we  are  now  to  reproduce. 
This  is  what  he  said: 

"I  have  heard  my  father,  who  was  a  breeder,  say 
that  the  haras  deteriorated  the  Percheron  breed  with 
its  demi-sang  stallions,  instead  of  improving  as  it 
pretended  to  do.  The  breeders  have  renounced  the 
colts  said  to  be  improved,  to  raise  only  colts  the 
product  of  big  horses,  well  proportioned  and  of  pure 
origin. 

"It  may  be  boldly  said  that  if  the  heart  of  The 
Perche — that  is  to  say  the  environs  of  Nogent-le- 
Rotrou  within  a  radius  of  18  to  20  miles — has  con- 
served the  purest  type  of  its  race  of  heavy  Percheron, 
it  is  thanks  to  the  breeders  and  stallioners  of  the 
region,  such  as  Messrs.  Perriot,  father  and  grand- 
father, Ducoeurjoly,  Sr.,  the  Vineaults,  etc.,  etc.  [Of 
course  M.  Fardouet  Avas  too  modest  to  mention  his 
OAvn  name,  but  reallv  he  ^vould  come  verv  near  the 
head  of  the  list.— Ed.] 

"It  was  about  1820  to  1840  that  the  Percheron 
breed,  the  breed  of  horses  that  trotted  quickly,  com- 
menced to  modify  itself.    It  has  detinitely  refused  to 


72  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

cross  with  the  demi-sang,  believing  it  to  be  harmful; 
it  has  also,  despite  the  assertions  of  Charles  Du 
Hays,  equally  rejected  the  Brittany  draft,  Picardy, 
Cauchois  and  Boulonnais  horses  which  have  too  often 
and  fraudulently  been  introduced  into  The  Perche, 
but  which  have  never  been  invited  to  enter." 

M.  Fardouet  Was  Right. — The  reference  to  the  at- 
titude of  the  government  in  connection  with  the 
conduct  of  the  Haras  du  Pin  is  easily  interpreted. 
That  establishment  was  being  maintained  mainly 
with  a  view  towards  encouraging  the  production  of 
horses  suited  to  the  requirements  of  the  military 
service.  The  stud  is  situated  near  the  boundary  line 
between  the  old  provinces  of  Normandy  and  The 
Perche.  As  will  be  shown  further  on,  the  stallions 
first  bought  by  the  government  for  this  purpose  were 
mainly  of  various  demi-sang  (half-blood)  English 
types  usually  carrying  infusions  of  the  Thorough- 
bred blood,  and  classified  as  saddle  or  coach  stal- 
lions. These  were  liberally  patronized  by  the  Nor- 
mandy farmers  and  by  some  of  the  mare  owners  of 
The  Perche,  with  the  effect  stated  by  M.  Fardouet. 

Later  on,  as  Ave  shall  show,  the  government, 
apparently  yielding  to  pressure  from  The  Perche  for 
w^eightier  horses  for  agricultural  purposes,  added  a 
few  draft  stallions;  but  had  the  farmers  of  that  dis- 
trict been  dependent  entirely  upon  the  Haras  du  Pin 
for  sires  of  horses  big  enough  to  meet  their  needs, 
this  story  probably  would  never  have  been  written. 
However,  while  this  statement  liolds  good  as  to  the 
types  of  stallions  bought  and  kept  in  service  by  the 


THE   RENALSSAXCE   FOLLOWING    THE   REVOLUTION  73 

government,  it  must  be  said  to  the  everlasting  credit 
of  the  authorities  at  Paris,  that  while  they  were  pri- 
marily and  properly  looking  first  after  the  interests 
of  the  army  at  Le  Pin,  they  at  the  same  time  actively 
and  efficiently  promoted  in  a  practical  way,  as  we 
shall  presently  prove,  the  aspirations  of  the  people 
of  The  Perclie  in  their  ambitions  to  increase  the  size 
of  the  Percheron  horse. 

The  credit  for  this  w^ork  of  converting  the  old-time 
trotting  Percheron  into  a  heavy  horse  is  due,  as  M. 
Fardouet  truly  says,  to  the  breeders  of  the  district 
themselves.  Xot  only  is  that  statement  correct,  but 
the  date  at  which  this  important  work  was  inaug- 
urated is  also  given  in  accordance  with  the  actual 
fact.  And  most  important  of  all,  M.  Fardouet  sound- 
ed the  entire  depth  and  breadth  of  the  whole  propo- 
sition touching  the  composition  of  the  modern  Per- 
cheron when  he  said  that  ''about  1820  to  1840"  the 
breed  "commenced  to  modify  itself."  These  asser- 
tions, unsupported  as  they  were  at  the  time  by  the 
presentation  of  facts  and  figures,  and  unverified  even 
in  the  initial  volume  of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of 
France,  are  now  to  be  rested  upon  the  rock  of  the 
archives  of  the  French  government. 

We  shall  first  take  up  the  record  at  the  Haras  du 
Pin,  and  then  present  the  long  roll  of  honor  of  gov- 
ernment-approved and  subsidized  Percheron  stal- 
lions, througli  the  services  of  which  the  breed  so 
effectually  modified  itself  during  the  eventful  years 
referred  to  in  M.  Fardouet 's  singularly  accurate 
narration. 


74  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

The  Government  Stud. — It  was  not  until  the  nine- 
teenth century  was  well  on  its  course  that  the  French 
government  stud  known  as  the  Haras  du  Pin  began 
to  interest  itself  in  draft  stallions.  An  examination 
of  the  documents  shows  that  in  the  purchases  made 
for  the  national  haras  from  1765  to  1789  Norman  and 
English  blood  greatly  predominated.  There  were 
many  Poitevins,  a  few  Vimeux  and  Limousins,  some 
Spanish,  and  but  one  or  two  Arabian  stallions  bought 
during  this  period.  In  fact,  the  documents  of  the 
Haras  du  Pin  show  that  very  few  stallions  of  the 
Arabian  breed  have  ever  been  kept  there.  At  one 
time  there  was  a  fair  number  of  Barbs,*  but  one 
rarely  finds  the  word  "Arab."  The  breed  of  every 
stallion  used  is  given,  almost  without  exception.  Be- 
fore the  dates  mentioned,  Danish,  Cotentin  and 
Italian  stallions  had  been  greatly  in  vogue.  All 
these  were  used  almost  exclusively  on  the  mares  in 
the  Merlerault  district  adjacent  to  Normandy.  The 
government  was  chiefly  concerned  in  encouraging  the 
production  of  cavalry  horses. 

First  Draft  Stallions  at  the  Haras  du  Pin. — We 

shall  now  give  the  record  of  the  breed  at  the  Haras 
du  Pin  from  the  time  the  first  draft  stallions  were 
introduced. 


*The  type  of  horse  known  as  the  Barb  derives  its  name  from  the 
ancient  Barbary  states  of  North  Africa  adjacent  to  the  Mediterranean 
coast,  including  Morocco,  Algeria,  Tunis,  etc.  While  the  type  has 
undergone  more  or  less  change,  quite  a  number  of  the  French  colonial 
cavalry  troops  engaged  in  the  great  European  war  are  moimted  on 
horses  of  Barb  type.  As  breeding  horses  the  stallions  are  reputed  to 
sire  larger  colts  when  crossed  with  other  breeds  than  when  mated  with 
mares  of  their  own  blood. 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  75 

In  the  list  of  stallions  kept  by  the  French  govern- 
ment at  this  establishment  one  may  search  in  vain 
for  draft  stallions  during  the  eighteenth  century.  It 
was  not  until  about  1808,  according  to  the  haras 
documents,  that  the  authorities  commenced  to  pur- 
chase heavy  draft  stallions,  and  then  only  on  a  very 
restricted  scale.  For  instance,  we  find  in  the  list  for 
1809  mention  made  of  Le  Pierrot,  standing  about  15.3 
hands,  ''dapple-gray"  (gris  pommele),  and  classed 
simply  as  a  "draft  stallion."  It  seems  to  have  been 
general  during  the  initial  years  of  the  introduction 
of  draft  stallions  at  this  stud  to  class  these  horses 
merely  as  "draft"  (de  trait),  without  mentioning 
the  breed.  There  can  be  little  doubt,  however,  that 
these  early  dapple-gray  horses  were  Percherons.  Sit- 
uated in  the  borders  of  the  Percheron  country,  it  is 
but  reasonable  to  take  this  view,  and  this  deduction 
is  corroborated  by  the  fact  that  on  the  rare  occasions 
on  which  a  Cauchois  or  Boulonnais  stallion  was  em- 
ployed he  was  invariably  designated  as  such  in  the 
records.  From  1809  up  to  the  year  in  which  we  find 
the  word  "Percheron"  mentioned  for  the  first  time 
in  the  list,  those  designated  simply  as  "draft  stal- 
lions" appear  with  increasing  frequency,  and  nearly 
all  of  them  are  described  as  ' '  grays. ' ' 

Curiously  enough,  the  first  instance  found  where 
a  Percheron  stallion  is  specifically  classed  as  such 
is  in  the  "Controle  des  etalons  du  Pin,"  sent  by  the 
director,  the  Count  de  Maille,  to  the  director-general 
of  the  haras  at  Paris,  under  date  of  Aug.  17,  1822. 
The  entry  is  that  of  Desarme  538:  "Percheron  draft, 


76  A    JIISTORV   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

born  in  1815;  color:  bay  with  long  tail;  sire  and  dam: 
nnknown  Perclierons;  height:  15.2  hands."  He 
entered  April  5,  1821.  The  director's  observation 
referring  to  this  horse  is  ' '  bon  clieval  de  trait. ' '  In 
the  report  from  which  the  preceding  detail  is  extract- 
ed practically  all  the  stallions  are  described  as  saddle 
and  coach  horses — of  Anglais  and  Normandy  breed- 
ing. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  liaras  management  had 
very  little  nse  for  a  draft  stallion  at  that  time.  In 
1823  there  were  several  in  the  list,  however,  as  well 
as  mares  and  fillies  of  the  draft  type,  bnt  the  word 
''Percheron"  is  not  nsed — merely  "de  trait.''  How- 
ever, in  the  following  year,  1824,  we  find  a  second 
mention  as  follows:  "Timbalier,  Percheron  draft; 
dapple-gray;  short  tail;  16  hands;  sire  and  dam  un- 
known; born  1818."  Also:  "Polisson,  Percheron 
draft;  dark  dapple-gray;  slightly  over  15  hands;  sire 
and  dam  nnknown;  born  1818."  There  is  a  note 
opposite  this  horse's  name:  "To  be  sent  to  Anxerre." 
He  was  perhaps  too  small.  There  is  also  reference 
in  that  year  to  Geant,  an  "enormons  Bonlonnais," 
and  some  Canchois  draft  stallions  are  mentioned. 

At  the  1826  inspection  we  hear  of  Desarme  again, 
as  follows: 

"Desarme  covered  45  mares  last  year  at  Chanday; 
32  of  these  were  fecnndated,  resnlting  in  the  birth 
of  13  colts  and  13  fillies,  all  alive.  Tlie  progeny  of 
Desarme  are  repnted  to  resemble  very  mnch  their 
sire;  they  are  all  good.  Desarme  has  served  this 
year  43  mares  at  Chanday.  I  wish  to  keep  Desarme. " 


THE  CHATEAU   AND   GLIMPSE   OF  THE  STABUXG  AT  LE   PIN. 


IXSIDE    THE    COURTYARD    AT    LE    PIN. 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  77 

This  note  was  written  by  the  director  of  the  stud. 
However,  the  inspector  gave  very  little  encourage- 
ment to  draft  horses  at  that  time,  for  we  find  in 
different  handwriting:  "Ce  cheval  est  trop  commun 
pour  Le  Pin.  (This  horse  is  too  common  for  Le 
Pin.)'' 

A  big  horse  called  Jocko  is  mentioned  in  1826 — 
a  dapple-gray,  standing  about  16.2.  He  entered 
March  19,  1826.  We  here  find  also  the  first  men- 
tion of  Herbager,  a  famous  stallion.  There  was  a 
certain  laxity  in  classifying;  perhaps  it  was  thought 
superfluous.  It  is  fair  to  presume  that  the  dapple- 
gray  Le  Pierrot,  in  the  list  of  stallions  at  the  stud 
in  1809,  was  a  Percheron,  although  simply  described 
at  that  time  as  "de  trait"  (draft).  Herbager,  for 
instance,  in  1826  was  classed  as  "de  trait,"  no  men- 
tion being  made  of  breed,  but  later  we  find  him 
classed  as  a  "Percheron,"  as  also  was  Jocko.  Her- 
bager was  about  15.2,  dapple-gray,  with  a  long  tail 
and  dark  mane.  He  was  born  in  1822  and  entered 
Oct.  11,  1825.  He  served  35  mares  at  Belleme  dur- 
ing his  first  year. 

Official  Notes. — In  1827  we  find  this  director's  note 
concerning  Desarme:  "He  has  covered  43  mares  at 
Chanday;  8  colts  and  17  fillies  resulted.  Desarme 's 
colts  are  strongly  built,  and  may  be  employed  in 
farm  work.  I  still  ask  that  I  may  keep  Desarme." 
Nevertheless,  the  inspector  recommended  Desarme 's 
removal.  In  this  year  we  hear  also  of  Remorquer, 
undoubtedly  one  of  the  finest  of  the  early  Percheron 
stallions  used  at  the  Pin,  as  will  be  seen  from  the 


78  A    JllSTOKV    UF    THE    I'KKCHEKON    IIURSE 

records.  His  color  is  given  as  "white-gray"  with 
a  long  tail.  He  stood  16.2  hands,  full.  His  sire  and 
dam  were  unknown  Percherons.  We  read  in  the 
director's  handwriting:  "Remorquer  made  his  first 
season  (1826)  at  La  Ferte  Bernard,  where  he  served 
42  mares.  I  wish  to  keep  Kemorquer,  who  sires 
strong  colts."  The  inspector's  notes  are:  "Fine 
draft  horse;  good  worker;  to  be  conserved."  This 
horse  was  worked  in  the  shafts  after  the  breeding 
season  was  over.  Joly  is  another  "heavy  draft" 
horse  we  hear  of  in  this  same  year.  He  was  slightly 
under  16  hands. 

At  the  inspection  of  1829  we  find  the  following 
note  of  the  director  respecting  the  Percheron  Jocko : 
"In  1828  Jocko  served  24  mares;  8  colts  and  15  fillies 
resulted.  Jocko  is  a  good  draft  stallion;  his  colts 
are  good.  Jocko  has  served  this  year  39  mares  at 
Beaumont."  Another  entry  on  same  page:  "Jocko 
is  useful  for  doing  the  farm  work  at  the  haras.  I 
ask  that  he  may  be  kept."  Inspector's  note:  "Use- 
ful for  doing  the  work  on  the  estate."  Director's 
notes  on  Herbager  made  in  1828:  "Herbager  served 
32  mares  at  Nogent  and  Belleme  in  1827;  23  were 
fecundated,  resulting  in  8  colts  and  10  fillies.  Her- 
bager is  a  good  breeder;  that  is  the  reason  he  is  in 
such  great  demand  by  the  farmers.  He  has  served 
54  mares  this  year  at  Belleme."  Another  note  in 
ditferent  handwriting  states:  "Herbager  is  in  great 
demand  around  Belleme,  because  he  is  such  a  sure 
breeder.    This  draft  stallion  does  useful  work. "    (He 


VISCOUNT  DE  TOKNAC  YILLENEITV^E— DIRECTOR  OF  THE  HARAS  DU  FIX 
SINCE  1911— PRIOR  TO  THAT  SUBDIRECTOR  AND  RIDING  ]MASTER  FOR  A 
PERIOD  OF  FIFTEEN  YEARS— AN  EXPERT  JUDGE  AND  FERVENT  ADiHRER 
OF   THE  PERCHERON  HORSE. 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  79 

worked  on  the  estate  as  a  draft  horse.)  Inspector's 
note:   "Useful  for  farm  work." 

Remorquer  "covered  44  mares  at  the  haras  in 
1827;  of  these  23  were  fecundated;  8  colts  and  11 
fillies  resulted.  Remorquer  gets  good  colts;  he  has 
served  41  mares  this  year  at  the  haras.  This  draft 
stallion  is  a  good  worker  in  the  shafts;  very  useful 
for  work  on  the  estate. ' '  Mention  is  made  this  year 
of  Inconstant,  a  draft  stallion  slightly  under  15.2, 
born  in  1823;  he  was  light  gray,  slightly  dappled. 
He  served  at  Courtalain  and  Brabadanger  in  1827. 
Of  him  it  was  said:  "This  stallion  is  well  liked 
around  Chanday.  The  farmers  are  pleased  with  the 
foals  he  gets.  This  year  he  has  served  46  mares  at 
La  Ferte  Bernard.  He  is  useful  for  work  on  the 
estate;  I  wish  to  keep  him."  Inconstant  served  41 
mares  at  Chanday  in  1828.  In  1827  Joly  got  18  foals 
out  of  25  mares  at  La  Ferte  Bernard.  He  was  well 
liked.  In  1828  the  same  horse  served  42  mares  at 
Chanday,  and  in  1829  he  had  50  mares  at  La  Ferte 
Bernard.  The  inspector's  note  on  Remorquer,  1829: 
"A  draft  horse  of  great  power." 

From  the  inspection  of  1830  we  take  the  following: 
"In  1828  Jocko  covered  22  mares;  6  colts  and  2  fillies 
resulted.  Jocko  does  not  get  many  foals.  However 
he  works  very  hard  as  a  draft  horse  (on  the  estate) ; 
his  colts  are  good  ones.  This  year  Jocko  has  served 
39  mares.  Besides  doing  the  season  at  the  stud,  he 
is  employed  at  all  kinds  of  work  on  the  estate.  I 
wish  to  keep  Jocko."  In  1828  Herbager  served  54 
mares  at  Belleme,  and  in  1829  55  mares  at  the  same 


fiO  A    IIISTOKV    OF    TITK    PERCIIERON    HORSE 

l^lace,  getting-  18  eolts  and  17  fillies.  Note:  "This 
stallion  is  very  sure;  his  products  are  good  and 
as  a  draft  horse  he  fulhlls  every  condition  as  a  sire 
that  gets  colts  which  sell  well;  for  this  reason  it  is 
greatly  regretted  at  Belleme  because  he  was  not  sent 
there  in  1830.  He  has  served  at  the  haras  this  year, 
having  covered  37  mares,  besides  working  as  a  draft 
horse  on  the  estate.  To  be  conserved."  Herbager 
was  a  great  horse.  A  further  note  on  Remorquer: 
"He  works  very  hard  and  does  the  season  at  the 
stud  besides.  Farmers  say  that  he  gets  good  colts. 
In  1829  he  had  45  mares  at  the  haras."  Joly  served 
28  mares  in  1828,  and  in  1829  he  had  50  mares  at 
Chanday.  Note:  "The  colts  got  by  Joly  are  well- 
formed."  In  1830  Joly  had  45  mares  at  La  Ferte 
Bernard. 

Superior  entered  the  haras  in  February,  1828.  He 
was  a  little  lower  than  16  hands.  He  did  the  season 
at  Nogent,  getting  13  colts  and  10  fillies  out  of  35 
mares.  His  record  reads:  "His  colts  are  good,  but 
as  he  has  sired  some  sorrels  and  a  certain  shade  of 
gray  which  does  not  please  the  farmers,  he  is  not  in 
so  great  demand  as  his  merits  warrant."  In  1829 
he  served  39  mares  at  Nogent,  and  in  1830  besides 
being  employed  as  a  work  horse  he  served  39  mares 
at  Chandayon. 

Directors  and  Inspectors  Disagree. — As  showing 
the  prejudice  which  the  government  inspectors  sent 
from  Paris  had  against  these  early  draft  stallions,  it 
appears  that  in  almost  every  case  at  the  annual 
inspection,  where  draft  animals  were  concerned,  the 


A    MARKET    DAY    AT    XOGEXT-LE-ROTKOU. 


ENTRANCE   TO   THE   HARAS  DU   TIN. 


THE  RENAISSANCE  FOLLOWING   THE  REVOLUTION  81 

inspector's  note  recommends  that  these  draft  stal- 
lions be  kept  only  as  work  horses  and  should  not 
be  allowed  to  serve — this  in  spite  of  the  high  recom- 
mendation of  certain  horses  by  the  director  of  Le 
Pin,  who  was  best  able  to  judge  their  merits.  The 
truth  is,  that  the  government  inspectors  discounte- 
nanced the  use  of  draft  horses.  They  wanted  all 
the  mares  in  the  country  to  be  served  by  blood 
horses.  They  were  always  obsessed  by  the  necessity 
of  finding  cavalry  remounts.  However,  we  find  that 
the  director  continued  to  use  these  Percheron 
stallions  for  breeding  purposes  just  the  same,  despite 
the  inspector's  recommendations.  It  is  amusing  to 
observe  the  director's  note,  year  after  year:  ^ 'I  wish 
to  keep  this  horse,"  and  then  the  inspector's  note 
under  it:  ^'To  be  used  as  a  work  horse  only;  should 
not  serve  mares."  Then  the  next  year  we  read  that 
the  stallion  had  served  mares  and  done  work  on  the 
estate  besides.  And  so  it  continues  year  after  year. 
The  obvious  fact  is  that  the  farmers  were  pleased 
with  the  colts  they  were  getting  from  this  draft 
blood.  They  were  increasing  the  size  of  their  horses, 
which  were  doing  good  service  in  the  fields  and 
probably  bringing  better  prices  at  this  period  than 
army  horses. 


CHAPTER  IV. 
EVOLUTION  FEOM  WITHIN. 

We  have  seen  that  about  1809  the  government 
began  adding  draft  stallions  to  the  coach  and  saddle 
types  maintained  in  the  Haras  dn  Pin,  and  that  these 
did  considerable  service  as  well  as  the  heavy  hauling 
about  the  establishment.  Work  was  apparentl}^  about 
all  that  the  army  officers  thought  they  were  fit  for, 
and  from  their  standpoint  the  inspectors  were  doubt- 
less right  enough.  The  farmers  of  The  Perche,  how- 
ever, were  not  to  be  turned  from  their  now  clearly 
apparent  determination  to  produce  a  bigger  horse. 
Normandy  might  breed  all  the  army  remounts  she 
liked.  The  Perche  had  other  plans,  seeing  which  the 
departmental  and  central  govermnent  authorities  set 
forces  in  motion  that  soon  brought  important  results. 
This  aid  took  the  form  of  government  inspection  and 
approval  of  certified  stallions  and  a  bonus  to  the 
owner.  We  find  the  first  reference  to  this  epoch- 
marking  step  in  1818. 

Prizes  Stimulate  Effort. — The  ''Annuaire  Statis- 
tique  et  Administratif  du  Dept.  d'Eure  et  Loir  pour 
1819,"  after  reciting  the  fact  that  "formerly,  from 
the  province  of  ancient  Perche,  horses  suitable  for 
the  dragoons  and  hussars  were  obtained,  and  also 
excellent  cobs  for  the  stage-coach  service,"  refers  to 

8:2 


EVOLUTION  FROM  WITHIN  83 

the  desire  of  the  authorities  and  intelligent  breeders 
to  "improve  the  species  of  horses  natural  to  the 
country,  suitable  for  withstanding  prolonged  fatigue, 
and  on  that  account  very  much  in  demand."  We 
quote: 

''The  Count  of  Breteuil  has  taken  effective  meas- 
ures to  improve  the  horses  in  The  Perche,  and,  in- 
cidentally, to  better  the  breeding  establishments. 
His  decree  of  the  27th  of  August,  1818,  approved  the 
16th  of  September  following  by  His  Excellency  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior,  empowers  an  inspector  to 
visit  all  the  stallions  destined  for  service  and  to  in- 
dicate those  having  tlie  necessary  qualities  rendering 
them  fit  for  the  purpose,  and  also  to  see  that  only 
those  mares  suitable  for  coupling  with  such  stallions 
are  allowed  to  be  covered.  Each  stallion  owner  will 
receive  a  booklet  containing  the  names  of  his  horses. 
The  list  of  entires  appropriate  for  public  stud  work 
will  be  published  and  exposed  at  the  prefect's  office." 

In  the  same  publication  for  1820  we  find  the  fol- 
lowing : 

' '  The  excellent  breed  of  Percheron  horses  belong- 
ing to  the  Department  is  appreciably  improved  since 
a  selection  of  the  stallions  has  been  practised  and 
prizes  awarded  to  the  finest  brood  mares.  Owners 
of  approved  stallions  receive  from  the  government, 
for  each  year  the  horses  are  kept  at  stud,  100  to  300 
francs  as  a  pension,  according  to  the  quality  of  the 
stallion. 

"At  the  Courtalain  fair,  held  on  the  25th  of  No- 
vember, and  at  the  Nogent  market  on  the  Saturday 
preceding  St.  Andrew's  Day,  prizes  are  awarded  to 
the  farmers  possessing  the  best  brood  mares  that 
have  been  served  by  the  stallions  approved  by  the 
government,  or  by  stallions  owned  privately,  pro- 


84  A   IJISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHEKON    HORSE 

vided  tliey  have  been  declared  suitable  for  public 
service.  M.  Barre,  farmer  at  Mainteiion,  lias  just  re- 
ceived a  medal  from  the  government  in  recognition 
of  his  great  care  given  to  his  horses. 

''Nogent-le-Eotrou  has  four  fairs,  which  attract 
great  gatherings.    Many  horses  are  sold  there." 

Notice  should  be  taken  of  tlie  fact  that  in  these 
original  inspections  not  only  had  the  stallions  to  be 
certified  before  being  permitted  to  serve,  but  the 
mares  offered  for  service  had  also  to  be  approved. 
This  brings  us  to  the  presentation  of  the  incon- 
trovertible ]oroof  of  the  correctness  of  M.  Fardouet's 
statements  already  quoted. 

The  National  Archives  in  Evidence. — Clearly  the 
original  manuscripts  in  the  National  Archives  at 
Paris  are  not  to  be  disputed,  and  they  reveal  a  story 
of  splendid  service  rendered  to  The  Perclie  by  the 
government  of  France  in  the  days  when  the  horse- 
loving  people  of  that  province  were  seeking  to  lay 
the  foundations  of  an  industry  that  was  destined  to 
add  millions  to  the  wealth  of  French  and  Amer- 
ican farmers.  In  these  archives  the  detailed  story 
of  the  creation  of  the  Percheron  horse  of  heavy 
draft,  so  long  untold  is  revealed,  and  we  need 
not  say  that  it  gives  us  much  pleasure  thus  to  be 
able  to  clear  away  misconceptions  heretofore  handed 
down,  substituting  fact  for  fiction,  and  authentic 
records  for  mere  traditions;  tlius  phacing  underneath 
the  records  of  the  Percheron  societies  of  France  and 
the  United  States  the  data  that  anchors  their  founda- 
tions in  the  bed-rock  of  an  official  registration  dat- 
ing back  now  nearly  one  hundred  years. 


EVOLUTION   FROM  WITHIN  85 

It  will  be  sliown  in  the  following  pages  that  the 
splendid  work  of  the  French  government  in  giving 
bonuses  or  prizes  to  approved  stallions  of  the  Per- 
clieron  breed  dates  simultaneously  from  about  1820 
in  the  Departments  of  Eure-et-Loir  (Arrondissement 
of  Nogent),  Orne  (Arrondissement  of  Mortagne),  and 
Loir-et-Cher  (Arrondissement  of  Vendome) — the 
very  cradle  of  the  Percheron  breed.  Later,  the  De- 
partment of  La  Sarthe  entered  upon  the  same  good 
work.  We  have  already  sliown  that  the  beginning  of 
Percheron  breeding  at  the  Eoyal  Haras  du  Pin  com- 
menced about  the  same  time.  We  quote  now  exclu- 
siv^ely  from  tlie  original  documents  (manuscripts) 
in  the  Xational  Archives  at  Paris,  covering  the  for- 
mative period  of  the  modern  Percheron. 

First  Approved  Stallions  Near  Nogent. — The  first 
three  approved  stallions  in  the  Xogent  district  were 
Superb,  Le  Curieux,  and  Le  Percheron.  Superb  be- 
longed to  M.  Debray,  Margon,  just  outside  of  No- 
gent. He  was  a  dapple-gray,  and  was  approved  on 
the  14th  of  August,  1820.  His  bonus  was  fixed  at 
300  francs  a  year,  and  he  was  considered  the  best 
stallion  at  that  time.  In  1822  he  served  42  mares, 
from  which  29  foals  were  born.  In  1823  he  had  58 
mares.  Five  of  the  mares  were  described  as  "Per- 
cheron-Norman,"  the  others  were  ''Percherons.^' 

Le  Curieux  was  owned  by  M.  Chevet,  Coudray. 
He  obtained  first  prize  as  an  approved  stallion  in 
1821.  He  was  four  years  old,  and  is  described  as  a 
"Percheron  suitable  for  draft  purposes,'^  dapple- 
gray,  with  a  light-colored  head;  he  was  got  by  a 


86  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Iiorse  called  Bonliomme,  "out  of  a  mare  of  M. 
Cochin. ' '  These  particulars,  besides  others,  are  given 
on  the  certificate  issued  to  the  owner.  In  height 
this  horse  was  about  16.1  hands.  Le  Curieux  was 
again  approved  in  1822  and  in  that  year  had  60 
mares.  In  1823  he  served  110  mares,  23  of  which 
belonged  to  one  owner,  a  M.  Lememe.  Five  Picardy 
mares  were  served  by  Le  Curieux  in  1823 ;  there  were 
also  several  Normans,  but  about  five- sixths  were 
Percherons.  In  1824  he  served  47  mares  in  the  com- 
munes of  Bazoches-Gouez,  Chapelle-Royal,  Charbon- 
ieres,  St.  Bomert,  Souance,  Bethonvilliers,  Vich- 
eres,  Coudray,  Etilleux  and  St.  Lubin,  all  in  Eure- 
et-Loir.  In  addition  he  served  74  mares  in  the  De- 
partment of  Orne  (communes  of  Masle  and  Ceton) 
in  the  same  year.  From  the  47  mares  served  in  Eure- 
et-Loir,  31  foals  were  born;  19  of  these  were  gray 
in  color.  In  1825  Le  Curieux  served  101  mares  in 
all;  34  were  in  Eure-et-Loir,  and  of  these  13  were 
gray,  7  black,  6  red-roan,  2  brown,  4  bay  and  2  chest- 
nut. 

In  1825  Aubert,  belonging  to  Cottereau  of  Coudray, 
not  far  from  Nogent,  served  90  mares,  25  of  which 
were  gray,  8  black,  and  19  bay.  This  stallion  ob- 
tained an  approved  bonus  of  240  francs. 

Le  Percheron  was  approved  on  Aug.  14,  1820.  He 
is  described  as  a  seven-year-old  bay,  of  the  Per- 
cheron breed.  He  belonged  to  M.  Guillemain  Conie, 
and  served  only  two  years.  He  received  an  annual 
bonus  of  100  francs.    In  1821  he  served  47  mares. 

Grand  Pierre,  Bijou  and  Le  Coq. — We  next  come 


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EVOLUTION   FROM   WJTIIIX  87 

to  Grand  Pierre,  owned  ])y  Dien,  of  Coudray.  This 
horse  was  born  in  1818  and  ^^'as  a  dapple-gray.  He 
served  60  mares  in  1824,  among  tiieni  one  belonging 
to  M.  Ducoeurjoly,  a  probable  ancestor  of  Ducoeur- 
joly,  one  of  the  lirst  members  of  the  French  Per- 
cheron  Society.  The  mare  was  a  gray  and  she  bore 
a  filly  foal,  also  gray.  Grand  Pierre  got  37  foals 
from  the  60  services.  In  1825  he  had  61  mares  and 
in  1826  he  served  64.  We  next  find  Bijon,  owned 
by  M.  Vasconcelles,  Honssaye  (commune  of  An- 
verre).  In  1821  he  had  54  mares,  and  the  result  w^as 
36  foals.  Then  comes  Le  Coq,  a  great  stallion  be- 
longing to  Benoit,  Illiers.  In  1824  he  served  101 
mares  and  70  foals  resulted.  In  1825  and  1826  he 
served  75  mares  each  year.  This  stallion  was  dap- 
ple-gray, and  stood  a  little  over  16  hands.  Bijou 
was  also  dapple-gray,  but  only  15. 1^^  hands  high, 
though  he  is  described  in  the  certificate  as  "Per- 
cheron,  heavy  draft."  He  was  evidently  in  great  de- 
mand, in  the  years  1825,  '26,  and  '27  serving  116, 124, 
and  135  mares. 

Liberally  Patronized. — In  1827  we  find  that  a  letter 
was  sent  from  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  (Bureau 
des  Haras)  to  the  Prefect  of  Eure-et-Loir  ordering 
1,070  francs  to  be  paid  to  tlie  following  stallioners: 
Benoit  (2  stallions),  400  francs;  240  francs  to  Cot- 
tereau,  of  Coudray;  100  francs  to  Dieu,  Coudray; 
180  francs  to  Monnier  Vasconcelles,  Anverre;  and 
180  francs  to  Marechal  (sometimes  written  Marchal), 
St.  Germain-le-Gaillard. 

Aubert,  one  of  the  horses  already  mentioned,  was 


88  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

a  strawberry-roan  born  in  1820  and  standing  slightly 
over  15.3  hands.  He  served  90  mares  in  1825  and  91 
in  1826.  He  belonged  to  Cottereau.  In  1827  he  had 
77  mares.  Lecoeur  belonged  to  Benoit.  He  was  a 
light-gray,  about  15.3  hands  high,  and  was  born  in 
1819.  In  1825  he  had  65  mares  and  115  in  1826. 
There  were  many  blacks  and  grays  among  the  mares 
served  by  this  horse  in  1826.  Marechal  owned  a 
horse  called  Le  Percheron  (not  the  one  previously 
mentioned).  He  stood  about  16.2  hands  high,  a  dap- 
ple-gray. In  1825  he  had  108  mares,  among  them 
being  8  belonging  to  one  Labiche.  In  1826  he  served 
117  mares  and  in  1827  he  had  88.  According  to  the 
Minister  of  the  Interior's  letter,  dated  18tli  of  June, 
1828,  we  find  that  Cottereau 's  stallion  Aubert  was  not 
allowed  to  serve  mares  after  that  date.  In  1827  he 
had  88  mares.  Mention  is  made  of  an  approved 
stallion,  Le  Braillard,  which  served  73  mares  in  1826. 
Marechal's  Pierrot,  a  dark  dapple-gray  born  in  1822, 
was  approved  the  25th  of  November,  1826.  Pierrot 
got  82  living  foals  in  his  first  season  out  of  113  mares. 
Big  Horses  in  Service. — That  the  big  stallions  were 
popular  in  those  days  is  instanced  by  the  list  of  mares 
served  by  the  ''heavy  draff  stallion  Le  Grand,  that 
stood  17  hands  high  and  was  dapple-gray  in  color. 
He  was  owned  by  Toutay,  of  Coutretot,  and  served 
in  the  Nogent  district.  In  1826  he  had  112  mares, 
and  in  1827  he  served  91.  In  the  list  of  mares  served 
by  the  approved  stallions  about  this  period  we  find 
that  the  dapple-grays  are  becoming  more  numerous 
and  bays  occur  less  frequently.    In  1829  le  Grand  had 


TRITON.    TYPE   OF   PERCHEROX    STAXi-ION    USED    AT   THE    GOVERXMEXT    STUD. 


PERCHEROX  STALLIOXS  AT  I.B  HAHAS   DU  PIX. 


FA'OLUTION   FKOiM    WITHIN  89 

60  mares,  and  in  1830  he  had  63,  16  of  which  were 
dapple-gray  and  9  of  other  shades  of  gray.  There 
w^ere  also  9  blacks  among  the  number.  Toutay  had 
another  stallion,  approved  the  18tli  of  November, 
1828,  called  Charles,  dapple-gray,  and  described  as 
"heavy  draft."  He  stood  16  hands  high.  Beausang 
(Madame  Toutay)  and  I'Eveille,  (serving  in  the 
Chateaudun  district)  are  two  other  stallions  men- 
tioned at  this  time.  Beausang  stood  15.3  hands  high, 
and  was  dapple-gray.  L'Eveille  w^as  also  dapple- 
gray,  measured  a  little  over  1 6  hands,  and  was  born 
in  1823.  He  served  109  mares  in  1828,  In  1830  he 
had  78  mares,  "gris  pommele" — dapple-gray — 
greatly  predominating  among  these  colors.  He  was 
authorized,  but  not  approved  at  this  time.  In  1831 
he  had  85  mares. 

We  next  hear  of  Cottereau's  16-hand  white-gray 
stallion  Franconni.  He  had  82  mares  in  1829  and  101 
mares  in  1830.  Bijou,  already  mentioned,  served  120 
mares  in  1829  and  a  still  larger  number  in  1830.  We 
note  also  that  Le  Cadet,  born  in  1824,  dapple-gray,  16 
hands  high,  served  117  mares  in  1829  and  136  in  1830. 
Margot,  a  dark  gray  of  about  15.3  hands,  belonging 
to  M.  Facheux  in  the  Chateaudun  district,  served  53 
mares  in  1828,  54  in  1829,  and  64  in  1830.  Benoit 
had  a  stallion  at  this  time,  Le  Eobuste,  a  16.2-hand 
dapple-gray  born  in  1823  that  served  107  mares  in 
1829  and  111  in  1830. 

Le  Coq  Goes  to  Belg'ium. — In  1829  the  fine  stallion 
Le  Coq  was  purchased  by  the  director  of  the  St.  Paul 
Eiding  Academy,  Brussels.     This  is  the  horse  that 


90  A    mSTOHV    OF    THE    PERCHERON    HORSE 

was  owned  by  Benoit.  According  to  a  letter  found 
among  the  documents  relating  to  the  approved  stal- 
lions, 2,540  francs  was  offered  for  Le  Coq  at  the  fair 
of  St.  Andre  before  he  was  approved.  The  letter  is 
written  by  the  Prefect  of  Eure-et-Loir  to  the  Min- 
ister of  the  Interior.  In  1828  Le  Coq  served  154  mares 
and  in  1829  had  116  mares.  Bijou  had  130  mares 
in  1828.  Cottereau's  stallion,  Braillard,  served  64 
mares  in  1828  and  the  same  number  in  1829.  At 
the  end  of  the  1829  season  this  stallion  broke  his 
thigh  while  serving  a  mare,  as  attested  by  affidavit 
made  out  at  Coudray  on  the  7th  of  October,  1829. 
Le  Grand  had  81  mares  in  1828,  60  in  1829,  72  in 
1830,  and  52  in  1831.  The  owner  of  Le  Grand 
(Toutay)  had  also  another  approved  stallion  at  this 
time,  called  Le  Veau  Eaye.  He  had  60  mares  in  1828, 
61  in  1829,  and  55  in  1830.  This  stallion,  born  in 
1824,  was  dark  gray  and  16  hands  high. 

In  1831  the  owners  of  the  approved  stallions  in 
Eure-et-Loir  were  Benoit,  Madame  Toutay  (Beau- 
mont), Guillaumin,  Gaubert,  Cottereau,  Toutay,  and 
Marechal.  Toutay  and  Marechal  had  each  three 
stallions.  Benoit  had  two  stallions;  one,  Le  Cadet, 
served  120  mares  in  1831  and  145  in  1832,  while  the 
other,  Le  Pommele,  born  in  1827,  and  standing  16.1 
hands  full,  had  95  mares  in  1831  and  108  in  1832. 

More  Big  Gray  Horses. — MarechaPs  Le  Bijou  (an- 
other Bijou,  probably  a  son  of  the  first),  born  in 
1826,  had  112  mares  in  1831  and  61  in  1832.  The 
same  owner's  Le  Pierro,  a  dapple-gray  of  16  hands, 
born  in  1826,  had  106  mares  in  1832.     MarechaPs 


EVOLUTION  FROM  WITHIN  91 

third  approved  stallion  was  Le  Courtois,  dapple- 
gray,  born  in  1828.  He  served  68  mares  in  1832. 
There  is  also  a  stallion  mentioned  at  this  time,  Le 
Deve,  16  hands  in  height  and  a  dark  dapple-gray, 
born  in  1828,  that  served  61  mares  in  1832.  Ganbert's 
stallion,  Largneux,  served  in  the  Chartres  district. 
He  was  dapple-gray,  15.2  hands  high,  and  had  57 
mares  in  1831,  50  in  1832,  53  in  1833,  and  51  in  1834. 
Guillanmin  had  also  a  stallion  named  Le  Coq  (not  the 
Benoit  stallion)  that  served  at  this  time.  He  had 
101  mares  in  1831  and  111  in  1832.  Toutay's  Le 
Grand,  the  17-liand  stallion  previously  mentioned, 
that  served  near  Xogent  had  59  mares  in  1832;  lie 
was  then  ten  years  old  and  Ducoeurjoly  had  a  gray 
mare  served  by  him  in  that  year.  Toutay's  Le 
Charon,  a  16-hand  dapple-gray  born  in  1828,  had  63 
mares  in  1832.  The  same  owner  had  another  stallion, 
Dorchene,  which  died  from  colic.  This  fact  is  attest- 
ed by  the  mayor  of  the  commune.  One  of  the  wit- 
nesses was  a  M.  Chouanard  (8th  of  June,  1832),  a 
probable  ancestor  of  the  well  known  Chouanard 
family  of  breeders  near  Xogent.  Dorchene  served 
60  mares  before  he  died  in  1832.  Franconni  had  64 
mares  in  1831,  the  same  number  in  1832,  and  55  in 
1833. 

Others  in  Nogent  District. — In  1835  the  amount  of 
bonuses  given  to  approved  stallion  owners  in  Eure- 
et-Loir  was  1,580  francs,  as  follows:  400  francs  to 
Toutay  (2  stallions),  340  to  Benoit  (3  stallions),  200 
to  Guillaumin,  150  each  to  Marechal  and  Dieu,  120 
each  to  Cottereau  and  Gaubert,  and  100  francs  to 


02  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

David,  making  a  total  of  10  stallions,  the  majority  of 
them  in  the  Nogent  district.  Toutay's  stallions  this 
year  were  Le  Grand  and  Le  Percheron.  In  1833  Le 
Grand  had  72  mares,  and  in  1834  he  served  60  marcs. 
Benoit's  Le  Pommele  served  109  mares  in  1833,  and 
111  mares  in  1834.  The  same  owner  ^s  Le  Coquet  had 
82  mares  in  1834,  while  his  third  stallion,  Le  Cadet, 
had  107  mares  in  1833  and  68  mares  in  1834.  Guillau- 
min  's  Le  Coco  received  a  prize  of  200  francs  and  was 
probably  a  very  fine  stallion.  In  1832  he  had  90 
mares,  in  1833  he  had  91  mares,  and  in  1834  63. 
Largneux  served  53  mares  in  1833  and  51  in  1834. 
Dieu's  Le  Poulet  had  53  mares  in  1833  and  56  in  1834. 
We  should  have  mentioned  also  Le  Bijou,  belonging 
to  a  M.  Thion,  that  had  60  mares  in  1833.  Cottereau's 
Franconni,  now  described  as  ''white"  in  color,  had 
50  mares  in  1834.  David's  stallion  (name  not  given) 
served  82  mares  in  1834,  and  from  his  services  in 
3833  we  are  told  by  the  records  that  he  got  49  living 
foals. 

In  the  Department  of  Orne. — From  the  documents 
relating  to  the  Department  of  Orne  the  splendid 
work  of  these  early  approved  stallions  runs  concur- 
rently with  those  in  Eure-et-Loir.  We  first  hear  of 
a  dapple-gray  stallion  belonging  to  M.  Launay,  Mau- 
vaisiniere,  near  Mortagne.  This  horse  got  23  foals 
from  the  1824  season.  Louis  Pelletier,  tenant  farmer 
at  Corbon,  had  a  stallion,  Le  Bijou,  that  made  the 
1825  season,  serving  38  mares,  elust  as  in  the  case  of 
Eure-et-Loir  the  full  list  of  mares  is  given  together 
with  date  of  service,  height  of  mare,  color,  age,  the 


■MM 


■■nil 


H.    PELLETIER   OF  LA   BEKXUCHE.    ORNE. 


EVOLUTION  FROM  WITHIN  93 

name  of  owner,  etc.,  certified  correct  and  stamped 
with  all  the  seals  of  the  mayors  in  the  several  com- 
munes in  which  the  mares  were  served. 

All  the  mares,  with  hardly  an  exception,  are  de- 
scribed as  "Percherons. "  The  first  list  will  give  a 
correct  idea  of  the  colors  prevailing  at  that  period. 
Among  the  mares  served  by  Pelletier's  horse  in  1825 
there  were  13  grays,  9  bays,  1  brown-bay,  4  blacks, 
and  3  chestnuts.  The  mares  were  not  so  high  as 
those  in  the  Nogent  district;  hardly  any  were  over 
15.2  hands.  Some  mares  were  served  in  Eure-et-Loir 
by  Launay's  horse,  and  he  also  served  mares  in  La 
Sarthe.  Launay's  old  stallion  book  is  found  among 
the  records ;  it  is  bound  in  sheepskin,  with  a  raw-hide 
lace  attached  to  close  it.  On  every  page  appears  the 
stamp  of  the  mayor  of  the  different  communes.  That 
is  why  we  can  state  that  his  horse  served  a  few  mares 
out  of  his  own  department,  as  we  find  the  mayor's 
stamp  of  Buissaye  (3  mares)  and  Reveillon  (1  mare), 
both  places  in  Eure-et-Loir.  It  seems  that  Launay's 
horse  began  serving  in  1822,  but  the  list  is  lacking. 
We  find,  however,  a  statement  that  he  got  26  living 
foals  out  of  31  mares.  It  should  have  been  men- 
tioned that  the  first  full  list  of  Launay's  mares  was 
in  1823 — 91  mares — but  the  observations  made  re- 
specting the  colors  apply  to  1825.  It  is  a  very  simple 
matter  to  find  the  colors  of  any  given  year,  however, 
if  greater  detail  is  deemed  necessary. 

In  1823  all  the  mares  are  described  as  Percherons 
except  9  Brittany  mares,  and  one  Normandy  mare. 
We  find  the  name  of  Aveline  for  the  first  time  in 


94  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

1823  at  Mont  Gaudray.    He  had  a  brown-bay  mare 
served  by  Launay's  horse. 

Service  for  12  Francs. — In  Launay's  notebook  for 
1822  we  read  the  following  interesting  detail:  "Mares 
to  be  served  three  times,  after  which  payment  of  12 
francs  for  the  service  shall  be  made,  and  1  franc, 
50  centimes  for  the  groom. ' '  Several  of  the  farmers 
had  two  or  three  mares  served.  Some  of  these  men 
are  described  as  land-owners,  while  others  are  tenant 
farmers.  Launay's  horse  received  a  bonus  of  200 
francs  a  year,  as  shown  by  a  letter  from  the  director- 
general  of  the  haras  at  Paris  to  the  Prefect  of  Orne 
transmitting  money  to  be  handed  over  to  Launay. 
Pelletier's  horse  got  33  foals  from  the  1825  season, 
and  32  from  the  1826  season.  This  horse  was  a  dap- 
ple-gray, standing  17  hands  high,  and  his  prize  money 
was  150  francs  a  year.  M.  Lefort  had  a  dapple-gray, 
described  as"Percheron,  heavy  draft,"  born  in  1821. 
In  1826  he  served  26  mares,  and  in  1827  he  had  32 
mares.    He  stood  16  hands  high. 

At  Mortagne  in  the  Early  '30's.— In  1830  there 
were  three  approved  stallions  in  the  Arrondissement 
of  Mortagne.  Two  belonged  to  Pelletier,  and  the 
other  to  Jacques  Geru.  Geru's  horse,  Hercule,  was  a 
dapple-gray,  16-hand,  heavy  draft,  born  in  1825.  He 
served  52  mares  in  1830,  and  58  in  1831.  Pelletier 's 
stallion,  Le  Bijou,  born  1825,  was  dapple-gray;  he 
served  35  mares  in  1830,  and  the  same  number  in 
1831.  Most  of  the  mares  were  under  15.2  hands  at 
this  time  in  that  part  of  The  Perche.     They  are, 


EVOLUTION   FROM  WITHIN  95 

however,  all  described  on  the  stallion  sheets  as  "Per- 
c  herons." 

In  1833  the  approved-stallion  owners  in  Orne  were 
Pelletier  (2  stallions),  Dutheil  of  Eperraix,  Herrissay 
and  Guerree.  Guerree's  horse  was  about  15.3  hands 
high  and  dapple-gray  in  color.  Dutheil 's  horse  was 
described  as  ' '  heavy  draft, ' '  standing  16  hands  high, 
a  gray — slightly  dappled.  In  1834  he  served  51 
mares,  and  in  1835  he  had  35  mares.  There  is  also 
another  stallion  mentioned,  Bijou,  which  served  30 
mares  in  1834,  and  38  mares  in  1835.  He  was  17 
hands  high,  was  born  1829,  and  was  dapple-gray  in 
color.  Herrissay 's  stallion,  born  1830,  a  16-liand  dap- 
ple-gray, served  34  mares  in  1834  and  32  mares  in 
1835.  He  had  another  horse,  described  as  "white" 
in  color,  w^hich  served  35  mares  in  1834  and  32  in  1835. 

The  owners  of  approved  stallions  in  Orne  in  1834 
and  '35  were  Leconte,  of  Veuville  (2  stallions,  350 
francs);  Pelletier,  Corbon  (2  stallions,  400  francs); 
Herrissay,  St.  Germain  de  Martigny  (200  francs); 
Guerree,  Fremongene  (100  francs).  Herrissay 's 
Bijou  served  53  mares  in  1835,  and  60  mares  in  1836. 
Bijou  (Guerree's)  served  60  mares  each  year  in  1835 
and  '36,  while  L'Ami  ( Pelletier 's)  had  32  mares  in 
each  of  those  years.  The  mares  served  by  Herrissay 's 
horse  measured  from  15  to  16  hands.  Already  there 
seems  to  be  an  improvement  in  the  size.  Leconte 's 
Cuirassier  was  not  a  Percheron.  He  is  described  as 
a  heavy  coach  horse,  dark  chestnut  in  color  and 
served  in  the  coach-horse  district — around  Argentan, 
that  part  of  Orne  lying  in  Normandj^    He  served  56 


96  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PEROHERON    110R5SE 

mares  in  1836.  The  other  Leconte  horse  was  a  sad- 
dler, and  served  only  19  mares  in  1836.  All  of  these 
stallions  had  to  serve  a  minimum  of  30  mares  in  order 
to  obtain  the  bonus. 

In  La  Sarthe. — AVe  first  find  record  of  La  Sarthe's 
figuring  among  the  departments  having  approved 
stallions  in  1832.  M.  Cousin,  commune  of  Peray,  had 
a  dapple-gray  stallion,  born  1827,  slightly  under  16 
I  lands,  which  served  40  mares  in  1832,  43  mares  in 
1833,  and  42  in  1834.  We  find  the  names  of  Aveline 
and  Hamelin  among  the  owners  of  mares  served  by 
this  horse.  Another  approved  stallion  w^as  M.  Pierre 
Abot's  horse  Mouton,  ''dapple-gray,  heavy  draft," 
born  1828,  16  hands  high.  He  had  57  mares  in  1833, 
but  in  the  following  year  was  not  allowed  to  serve. 

Loir-et-Cher. — In  the  department  of  Loir-et-Cher, 
in  that  part  of  the  department  lying  in  The  Perche 
(Arrondissement  of  Vendome)  very  intensive  breed- 
ing of  Percherons  took  place,  beginning  about  the 
same  date  as  in  the  other  departments,  and  we  find, 
just  as  in  the  case  of  the  stallions  in  the  other  dis- 
tricts mentioned,  that  those  in  Loir-et-Cher  were 
practically  all  grays  of  different  shades. 

The  first  approved  stallion  we  find  record  of  in 
this  district  belonged  to  a  M.  Ferrand.  He  was  a 
silver-gray,  of  15.2  hands,  and  was  described  as 
heavy  draft.  In  1827  lie  served  103  mares.  Then  we 
find  a  record  of  Coco,  a  slate-colored  gray  with  four 
white  feet,  belonging  to  M.  Richandeau,  St.  Gourgou. 
He  stood  about  16  hands.  In  1830  there  were  two 
approved    stallious.      One   of  these   was   Coco,   and 


Top— Chas.     Aveline,     Louis     Aveline  <i      E.     Jones    In     Chas.     Aveline's    pastuxes. 

Middle — Paul     Chouanaid     looking     at     cattle     at     M.     Tacheau's.       Bottom— Same 
indiriduals  as   seen    in    top   picture.— SCEXES    IN'    THE    PEBCHE. 


KVOLITION    FROM    WJTHIN  \)  I 

45  foals  were  born  as  the  result  of  his  first  season. 
Ferrand's  horse  served  94  mares  in  1830,  and  106  in 
1831.  In  1831  more  bonuses  were  given  for  ap- 
proved stallions.  T.  Tardiveau's  Moulinet,  a  dapple- 
gray  of  16  hands,  born  in  1823,  served  140  mares  in 
1831.  Another  dapple-gray  belonging  to  Tardiveau 
is  reported  to  have  served  181  mares  in  1831.  There 
was  another  stallion  belonging  to  a  M.  Crignon,  Me- 
rainville. 

In  1832  we  find  a  growing  interest  in  Percheron 
breeding  in  this  section.  Ferrand  had  three  horses, 
and  Richandeau,  Tardiveau  and  Crignon  one  each. 
Crignon 's  horse  served  32  mares  in  1832.  Moulinet 
had  151  mares  in  1832.  Ferrand's  horse  served  86 
mares  in  1832.  Another  of  his  horses  (name  not 
given),  born  1823,  a  heavy  draft  of  16  hands,  gray, 
served  102  mares  in  1831  and  94  in  1832.  His  third 
stallion  was  also  16  hands  high,  white  in  color.  He 
served  98  mares  in  1832.  Tardiveau's  horse  served 
108  mares  in  1832.  A  stallion  belonging  to  Tardi- 
veau, authorized  but  not  approved,  17  hands  high, 
gray,  served  85  mares  in  1831  and  84  in  1832. 

In  1833  there  were  about  seven  or  eight  approved 
stallions,  and  1,150  francs  was  distributed  in  bonuses. 
Ferrand  had  three  horses,  and  T.  Tardiveau,  Richan- 
deau,  Crignon  and  P.  Tardiveau  one  each.  All  these 
stallions  were  either  white,  dapple-gra}^  or  silver- 
gray  with  white  manes  and  tails;  all  Avere  ''Per- 
cherons."  Gray  greatly  predominated  everywhere 
in  this  country  among  the  mares  served,  according  to 
the  lists;  and  the  stallions  are  remarkable,  not  only 


98  A    HISTORY   OF    THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

for  the  number  of  mares  served,  but  also  for  their 
fecundity,  as  evidenced  by  the  attested  lists  of  liv- 
ing foals  from  the  seasons'  services.  In  1834  Fer- 
rand  had  three  approved  stallions,  which  served  101, 
105  and  103  mares.  The  other  stallioners  were  T. 
Tardiveau,  P.  Tardiveau,  Contangeau,  Chevet  (Mont- 
doubleau),  and  Thereau.  None  of  these  stallions 
served  fewer  than  80  mares,  while  some  of  them  had 
considerably  more  than  a  hundred. 

This  part  of  The  Perche  has  always  been  noted 
as  a  mare  country,  although  buyers — Americans,  at. 
least^ — do  not  visit  the  centers  like  Montdoubleau, 
Savigny-sur-Bray  and  Droue  as  frequently  as  for- 
merly. Nevertheless,  a  great  many  colts  from 
that  region  get  into  the  hands  of  the  stallioners 
around  Nogent  and  are  ultimately  sold  for  export  to 
America. 

A  Broad  Constructive  Policy  Continued. — It  might 
be  interesting,  although  somewhat  wearisome,  to 
undertake  to  extend  this  sort  of  data  further,  but  we 
have  already  brought  it  down  through  the  formative 
period  named  so  accurately  by  M.  Fardouet.  More- 
over, this  carries  the  French  side  of  the  narrative 
well  down  towards  the  beginnings  of  the  export  trade 
with  the  United  States,  and  we  must  now  be  turning 
our  attention  to  our  own  side  the  Atlantic.  Suffice 
it  to  say,  therefore,  that  this  same  system  of  bonuses 
and  inspection  was  continued  in  The  Perche,  and 
with  happy  results. 

Speaking  of  the  policy  pursued  during  the  years 
succeeding  those  so  fully  covered  by  the  foregoing 


EVOLUTION    FROM    WITHIN  99 

notes,  the  Abbe  Fret,  from  whom  we  have  so  fre- 
quently quoted,  says: 

* '  Since  1836  the  desire  to  ameliorate  agriculture  in 
The  Perche  has  made  great  strides  among  the  farm- 
ers. A  noble  emulation  has  been  set  by  creating 
'  prizes  of  encouragement, '  an  agricultural  committee 
having  been  established  at  Nogent,  which  unites 
annualh^  under  the  presidency  of  the  Count  de  Bussy. 
This  committee  has  already  justified  the  hopes  of  its 
founders  and  is  spreading  its  influence  over  the  re- 
gion. A  depot  of  stallions  has  been  established  at 
Nogent,  at  the  barracks  of  St.  Denis,  by  the  Haras 
du  Pin,  which  has  greatly  improved  the  horses  of 
the  Percheron  breed.  They  have  distributed  prizes 
at  Nogent  to  the  owners  of  the  finest  brood  mares.'' 

A  few  more  records  and  we  shall  conclude  this 
discussion.  In  the  ''Bulletin  de  la  Societe  Eoyale  de 
Mans"  is  an  interesting  account  of  an  agricultural 
show  held  at  Mamers  in  1838.  Prizes  were  given  for 
the  best  draft  mare  having  foaled  during  the  year, 
age  4  to  9  years;  also  for  the  best  colt,  two  to  three 
years,  and  the  best  filly,  same  age.  All  were  to  be 
of  the  Percheron  breed.  Agricultural  shows  at  which 
Percheron  horses  were  exhibited  also  took  place  at 
Saint  Calais,  Beaumont-le-Comte,  Saint  Pater,  La 
Ferte  Bernard  and  Marolle-les-Braults. 

At  a  show  held  at  La  Ferte  Bernard  on  the  19th  of 
September,  1841,  a  M.  Torsay  won  the  first  prize  on 
a  light  flea-bitten  gray  mare,  about  16.2  hands  high 
and  eight  years  old.  Second  prize  went  to  M.  Vin- 
cent on  a  steel  gray,  five  years  old,  of  about  the 
same  height.  A  black  mare,  six  years  old,  measuring 
about  16.1,  received  honorable  mention.     It  will  be 


TOO  A   HISTORY   OF    THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

seen  from  this  that  there  were  big  drafty  mares  in 
The  Perche  even  in  those  days.  M.  Richard  won  the 
first  prize  on  fillies  with  a  brown  bay  of  about  15.2 
hands,  and  second  prize  went  to  M.  Prudhomme  on 
a  filly  of  similar  color,  abont  the  same  height. 

In  stallions  first  prize  went  to  M.  Pennetier,  and 
second  to  M.  Flenrida.  These  stallions  had  no  com- 
petition, as  evidenced  by  the  following: 

''Although  these  stallions  had  no  competitors,  the 
judges  nevertheless  thought  they  ought  to  be 
awarded  prizes  as  presenting  in  the  highest  degree 
the  qualities  which  constitute  a  stallion  suitable  for 
the  production  of  draft  colts,  and  it  is  probably  owing 
to  the  superiority  of  these  two  individuals  that  one 
must  attribute  the  absence  of  competitors.*' 

At  the  show  in  the  same  town  in  1842  M.  Pennetier 
again  won  first  prize  in  stallions  with  a  horse  of 
16.3  hands,  dapple-gray,  six  years  old.  In  the  fol- 
lowing year  M.  Tacheau,  probably  the  grandfather  of 
the  present  noted  stallioner  and  breeder,  won  first 
prize  in  fillies. 

Outcrossing  Exaggerated. — Had  the  Percheron, 
then,  during  this  evolution,  received  no  crosses  from 
other  breeds?  Very  likely  experiments  were  tried, 
but  it  is  entirely  clear  that  misguided  alliances  with 
extraneous  blood  were  never  permitted  specially  to 
influence  the  race  in  its  entirety.  The  specific  and 
inherent  qualities  of  the  type  were  always  conserved 
intact.  Unsatisfactory  colts,  the  product  of  occa- 
sional infusions  of  blood  from  other  breeds,  were 
promptly  set  aside  as  work  horses  and  not  al- 
lowed to  reproduce  their  kind.     No  men  are  more 


EVOLUTION  FROM  WITHIN  101 

tenacious  than  those  of  The  Perche.  None  knows 
better  than  the  Percheron  farmer  himself  whicli 
type  of  horse  suits  his  needs  best. 

The  possible  influence  of  an  introduction  of  a  few 
Picardy  mares  near  Montdoubleau  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  19th  century  has  been  grossly  exagger- 
ated. We  have  had  an  examination  made  of  the 
original  sheets  containing  full  descriptions  of  the 
native  mares  served  in  The  Perche  by  the  approved 
Percheron  stallions  from  the  time  these  approved 
stallions  first  began  their  work,  and  only  in  a  few 
instances  do  we  find  the  name  "Picardy,"  as  applied 
to  the  '^ provenance"  of  the  mares,  mentioned.  This 
blood  was  quickly  eliminated,  as  is  shown  by  ref- 
erence to  later  documents.  But  long  before  the  or- 
ganization of  the  stud  book  the  purity  of  the  breed 
was  almost  guaranteed  by  the  fact  that  only  the  most 
typical  sires  were  allowed  to  serve  mares.  Each  de- 
partment had  very  stringent  rules  to  assure  the 
purity  of  the  breed.  No  stallion  could  serve  mares 
without  official  permission  first  having  been  obtained. 

As  to  Color. — With  respect  to  the  black  color 
which  became  popular  some  years  ago  much  has 
been  said  by  way  of  insinuating  that  this  came  from 
an  outside  source.  There  have  always  been  plenty 
of  black  mares  in  The  Perche.  Precise  information 
touching  this  is  to  be  found  in  the  government  serv- 
ice sheets.  Every  stallion  sheet  that  we  have  had 
examined,  beginning  about  1820,  alludes  to  black 
mares  of  the  "Percheron"  breed.  The  breeders  of 
The  Perche,  like  other  men,  cater  to  their  customers, 


102  A    HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

and  they  were  easily  able  to  produce  blacks  in  con- 
siderable numbers  from  within  the  breed  itself  by 
natural  selection. 

When  the  special  demand  for  blacks  abated,  stal- 
lions of  that  color  were  discarded  and  the  farmers 
began  to  put  their  mares  again  to  grays.  Similarly, 
if  a  craze  for  bays  had  sprung  up  years  ago,  it  would 
have  been  possible  to  produce  bay  colts  all  over  The 
Perclie.  The  first  Percheron  specifically  mentioned 
in  the  records  of  the  government  stud,  as  has  already 
been  set  forth,  was  of  that  color..  The  gray  color, 
however,  has  always  been  common  to  the  Percheron, 
and  it  was  through  the  influence  of  the  approved  stal- 
lions which  we  have  listed  that  this  color  became 
predominant.  The  stallions  used  in  The  Perche, 
almost  without  exception,  during  the  early  formative 
period  were  grays,  and  of  these  nearly  all  were  dap- 
ple-gray ("gris  pommele"). 

That  was  the  period  when  the  popularity  of  the 
Percheron  as  a  stage-coach  or  diligence  horse  had 
reached  its  zenith.  Three  important  turnpike  roads 
from  Paris  to  the  coast  passed  through  The  Perche, 
and  as  the  railroads  had  not  yet  come  traveling  was 
by  diligence.  Some  of  these  coaches  also  carried  the 
mails,  and  good  time  had  to  be  made  regularly.  The 
lighter  Percheron  of  those  days  was  considered  ideal 
for  this  work,  and  the  gray  color  pleased  the  pro- 
prietors because  the  teams  could  be  seen  more  dis- 
tinctly at  night.  The  introduction  of  railroads  caused 
the  Percheron  later  to  be  drafted  into  omnibus  work, 
principally  at  Paris,  where  tliousands  of  these  dap- 


EVOLUTION  FROM  WITHIN  103 

ple-gray  horses  in  matched  couples,  and  threes  were 
until  very  recent  years  a  familiar  sight. 

Passing  of  the  Diligence  Type. — But  even  before 
the  railways  came,  under  the  influence  of  the  service 
of  the  large  approved  stallions  we  have  mentioned 
the  breed  was  becoming  more  drafty,  a  fact  which 
called  forth  some  protest,  as  is  evidenced  by  a  report 
made  at  a  meeting  of  the  Agricultural  Society  of 
Mans,  on  Feb.  5,  1845,  from  which  we  quote: 

''It  is  an  incontestable  fact  that  the  stallion  shows 
of  this  department  (Sarthe)  have  produced  satis- 
factory results.  But,  really,  what  do  we  want  today  ? 
Light,  vigorous  draft  horses  for  our  artillery,  mail 
coaches  and  diligences,  the  number  of  which  has 
been  doubled  since  twenty  years  ago.  We  need 
horses  capable  of  doing  about  7  to  10  miles  an  hour, 
at  least,  in  harness.  Shall  we  obtain  these  results 
with  heavy  horses,  only  suitable  for  heavy  draft 
work  and  large  exploitations?" 

The  Beauce  was  asking  for  larger  horses  to  do  the 
plowing  and  to  prepare  the  land  for  the  wheat  crop. 
This  region  is  contiguous  to  The  Perche,  and  is  called 
the  "granary  of  France."  The  growing  population 
of  Paris,  which  has  always  taken  most  of  the  Beauce 
wheat,  compelled  more  modern  methods  of  culture 
on  the  part  of  the  grain-growing  farmers  of  that  fer- 
tile region.  Oxen  were  gradually  being  discarded 
and  heavy  horses  were  being  used  in  greater  numbers 
throughout  all  France.  The  call  upon  The  Perche 
for  material  of  this  sort  was  not  only  persistent  but 
it  came  from  many  different  districts. 

Some    Conclusions. — The    more    profoundly    one 


104  A  HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

studies  The  Perche  and  its  history,  the  more  firmly 
one  is  persuaded:  first,  that  the  Percheron  horse  is 
a  product  of  this  ancient  province  and  indigenous  to 
the  basin  of  the  Seine,  and  second,  that  he  has  been 
developed  and  has  acquired  his  most  distinguishing 
characteristics  through  judicious  breeding  within  the 
territorial  limitations  of  The  Perche  itself.  Centu- 
ries of  evolution  in  a  small  country  where  the  soil, 
the  climate,  the  forage,  and  the  very  air  itself  con- 
duced in  the  highest  degree  to  the  production  of 
good  horses  have  accomplished  the  result  so  admired 
today. 

Modifications  of  type  have  taken  place  in  the  past, 
and  no  doubt  will  appear  in  the  future.  All  draft 
breeds  have  undergone  mutations  to  meet  the  chang- 
ing exigencies  of  the  times.  During  the  Dark  Ages 
the  native  horse  of  The  Perche  was  in  demand  as  a 
war  horse.  Later  we  know  that  in  the  17th  century 
depredating  bands  frequently  entered  The  Perche, 
primarily  for  the  purpose  of  appropriating  the  fine 
horses  known  to  be  there.  Although  we  have  no 
historical  facts  to  prove  that  Rotrou  III  sallied  forth 
from  Nogent  with  his  numerous  retinue  of  knights 
and  vassals,  all  mounted  on  the  light  type  old-time 
Percherons,  when  he  went  to  fight  the  infidels  in  the 
Holy  Land  in  1095,  history  does  not  tell  us,  on  the 
contrary,  that  other  than  native  horses  were  em- 
ployed in  this  expedition,  or  in  the  second  Crusade, 
or  in  the  campaign  against  the  Saracens  in  Spain. 
To  all  of  these  martial  exploits  many  of  the  seigneurs 
of  The  Perche  contributed  their  quota. 


EVOLUTION    FROM    WITHIN  105 

Through  many  generations  during  various  periods 
of  the  Percheron's  history  the  same  old  families 
have  been  engaged  in  producing  colts  in  this  won- 
derful nursery  of  good  horses.  The  names  of  some 
of  those  who  have  contributed  largely  to  the  making 
of  Percheron  progress  will  be  mentioned  in  a  subse- 
quent chapter.  The  specially  rapid  maturing  quali- 
ties of  the  Percheron,  and  the  extraordinary  plas- 
ticity of  the  breed  have  served  these  persistent  breed- 
ers admirably  in  their  eminently  successful  effort  to 
produce  larger  horses.  All  this  has  been  brought 
about  under  the  stimulating  influence  of  foreign  gold 
by  a  rigorous  selection  of  the  breeding  materials, 
rational  working  of  the  brood  mares,  and  liberal 
feeding  of  the  young  stock  with  suitable  grain  and 
forage. 

This,  then,  is  a  fair  account  of  the  original  evolu- 
tion of  the  modern  type  in  France,  so  far  as  can  be 
ascertained  by  an  exhaustive  examination  of  all 
available  records  pertaining  to  it.  The  famous  stal- 
lions appearing  in  the  first  volume  of  the  Percheron 
Stud  Book  of  France  were  undoubtedly  the  direct 
descendants  of  the  government-approved  stallions 
listed  in  the  foregoing  pages.  It  will  be  observed 
that  the  long  record  so  carefully  examined  at  the 
expense  of  much  time  and  labor  yields  the  name 
of  but  one  stallion  in  service  during  this  period 
described  as  a  ''Boulonnais,"  and  he  was  not  owned 
by  a  Percheron  farmer  but  belonged  to  the  govern- 
ment. The  Perche  was  increasing  the  weight  of 
its  own  horses  bv  free  recourse  to  the  services  of  the 


106  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

larger  stallions  and  mares  selected  and  mated  with, 
this  particular  object  in  view,  under  official  inspec- 
tions. The  stallions  named  in  this  chapter,  and  they 
alone,  are  the  true  historic  forbears  of  the  heavy 
draft  Percherons  of  the  years  that  followed  their  use. 


CHAPTER  y. 
FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA. 

Somewhere  on  the  shaggy  shores  of  the  mighty 
seaward  outlet  of  the  Great  Lakes,  quite  probably 
at  Quebec,  the  first  horses  brought  from  the  old  to 
the  new  France  were  debarked.  Doubtless  within 
the  crypted  chests  of  the  churches  and  monasteries 
of  Canada  records  of  horses  imported  in  the  seven- 
teenth and  eighteenth  centuries  lie  buried  deep  in 
the  dust  of  time,  but  in  none  of  the  public  documents 
of  the  Dominion,  church  or  state,  is  there  mention 
of  such  shipments.  Louis  XIV  sent  some  mares  and 
a  few  stallions  from  the  Royal  stables  in  1665,  1667 
1670,  but  they  were  not  of  a  sort  well  suited  to  the 
purposes  of  agriculture.  Other  stallions  besides  the 
few  donated  by  the  king  must  have  been  imported 
by  the  colonists  themselves  and  these  in  all  probabil- 
ity were  of  a  sturdier,  more  useful  type.  After  the 
cession  to  Britain  in  1760  the  insular  types  assumed 
the  ascendancy,  save  in  the  old  French  settlements. 

The  primeval  forests  of  the  Lower  St.  Lawrence 
were  first  seen  by  Jacques  Cartier,  the  French  ex- 
plorer, in  the  year  1535,  but  it  was  not  until  1609  that 
Champlain  began  building  upon  the  now  historic 
rock  of  Quebec.  This  event  marked  the  beginnings 
of  Canadian  agriculture,  and  to  this  day  the  horses 

107 


108  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

of  the  province  of  Quebec,  in  the  hands  of  the  de- 
scendants of  the  first  "habitants,"  reveal  in  their 
activity  and  endurance,  if  not  in  size,  something 
of  the  character  of  the  sturdy,  fast-traveling,  long- 
distance trotters  for  which  France  had  been  famous 
for  generations.  More  than  a  century  ago  the  native 
horses  of  eastern  Canada  offered  in  their  conforma- 
tion indisputable  proof  of  a  Gallic  origin,  but  so 
altered  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a  new  country  as 
to  be  entitled  to  recognition  as  a  distinct  type. 

Authentic  Records  Begin. — The  first  stallions  im- 
ported into  North  America  from  France  of  which 
there  is  record  in  all  probability  did  not  come  from 
The  Perche.  The  so-called  ''McNitt  Horse," 
brought  into  Canada  in  1816,  was  a  dapple-gray 
standing  from  15.2  to  15.3  hands  high.  At  the  time 
he  was  imported  the  French  government,  as  we  have 
already  shown,  was  just  beginning  at  the  Haras  du 
Pin  to  give  a  more  or  less  grudging  support  to  the 
idea  of  developing  heavy  drafters  in  The  Perche. 
While  the  breeding  and  origin  of  the  McNitt 
Horse,  or  European,  as  he  was  sometimes  called, 
cannot  now  be  fixed,  it  is  clear  that  he  was  of  a  type 
then  in  favor  in  France.  He  weighed  around  1,200 
pounds  and  was  a  trotter  of  renown.  Moreover,  he 
proved  a  successful  and  prolific  sire.  His  sons  were, 
as  a  rule,  so  superior  to  the  native  stock  of  the  time 
that  many  of  them  were  kept  entire  and  used  in  the 
stud.  At  a  rather  advanced  age  he  was  brought 
into  Washington  County,  New  York.  Both  he  and 
several  of  his  sons  were  popular  in  the  Empire  State 


EDWARD   HARRIS   OF   NEW   JERSEY— PIONEER   IMPORTER    OF   PERCHERONS. 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AjVIERICA  109 

and  New  England,  but  whatever  mark  they  may  have 
left  upon  the  horses  of  that  portion  of  the  United 
States  was  later  effaced  by  the  stronger  blood  of  imp. 
Messenger,  a  Thoroughbred  and  also  a  gray,  whose 
stock  even  to  the  second  and  third  generations 
proved  popular  in  the  east. 

Alexander's  Norman. — One  son  of  the  McNitt 
Horse  gained  a  measure  of  renown  in  this  country. 
This  was  the  gray  Morse  Horse,  sire  of  Alexander's 
Norman,  a  noted  stallion  taken  from  New  York  state 
to  Eobert  A.  Alexander's  famous  Woodburn  Farm  in 
Kentucky  some  time  during  the  '50 's  of  the  last 
century  to  sire  work  horses.  This  he  did  with  suc- 
cess, and  incidentally  he  founded  a  small  and  com- 
paratively unimportant  family  of  trotters.  The 
name  of  this  horse  would  indicate  that  the  French 
type  probably  had  been  preserved  in  his  case. 

Diligent  search  of  old  newspaper  files  and  such 
public  documents  as  are  available  reveals  no  proof 
of  further  importations  from  France  for  a  long 
series  of  years.  There  is  a  tradition  that  at  some 
time  between  1820  and  1831  gray  French  horses 
were  imported  into  Maryland,  but  if  so  all  traces 
of  them,  their  owners,  and  their  history  have  van- 
ished. 

First  Importation  to  the  States. — In  1831  Edward 
Harris,  a  resident  of  Moorestown,  N.  J.,  was  travel- 
ing for  pleasure  in  northern  France  and  became  so 
impressed  with  the  excellence  of  the  hardy  horses 
that  hauled  the  heavy  diligences  in  which  he  tra- 
versed the  country  that  he  determined  to  ship  a  few 


110  A    HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

specimens  to  the  United  States.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, until  1839  that  he  succeeded  in  putting  this 
determination  into  effect,  and  then  bad  luck  pur- 
sued his  venture;  only  one  of  the  first  four  head 
shipped  reached  America  alive,  and  this  sole  sur- 
vivor was  a  mare.  Nothing  daunted,  Mr.  Harris 
immediately  took  ship  again  for  France,  and  re- 
turned this  time  with  two  stallions,  one  named  Dili- 
gence, and  two  mares,  one  of  which  died  shortly 
after  landing.  This  importation,  it  would  appear, 
had  only  a  passing  influence  on  the  native  stock  of 
New  Jersey.  One  of  the  stallions  went  blind  during 
his  first  year  in  this  country  and  was  permanently 
retired  from  service.  One  of  the  mares  named  Dap- 
ple proved  a  non-breeder,  while  the  other,  Joan,  a 
gray,  produced  a  gray  colt,  a  chestnut  filly,  and  a 
bay  colt  at  successive  foalings,  all  being  got  by  the 
gray  Diligence.  Joan^s  next  and  last  foal,  born  in 
1856,  was  a  bay  by  Harmer's  Norman,  a  stallion 
said  to  have  been  imported  and  not  hitherto  located, 
but  which  will  be  definitely  referred  to  later  on. 
Diligence  was  a  compactly  built  horse  standing 
about  15  hands  high,  and  according  to  his  owner  he 
begot  about  400  foals.  He  died  in  1856.  One  mare, 
Julie,  foaled  in  1851,  and  two  stallions,  Diligence  2d 
and  Louis  Philippe,  all  by  Diligence,  were  entered 
among  the  foundation  animals  accepted  for  registry 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  American  Stud  Book. 

Ohio  Importations  of  1851. — In  another  volume  the 
author  has  shown  that  the  cattle  stocks  of  the  mid- 
west states  were  profoundly  influenced  by  the  im- 


FIRST  FREXCII  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  111 

porting  operations  of  tlie  enterprising  farmers  of 
south-central  Ohio  carried  on  at  intervals  during 
a  long  series  of  years  beginning  in  1834.  These  men 
were  mostly  of  Virginia  extraction  and  never  could 
abide  inferior  domestic  animals.  Their  attention 
was  first  given  to  their  herds  and  flocks,  which 
acquired  in  due  course  a  nation-wide  celebrity. 
Their  love  for  a  good  horse  was  proverbial,  but  it 
first  expressed  itself  in  an  attachment  to  the  English 
Thoroughbred  or  blood  horse  and  to  those  wonder- 
fully gaited  saddlers  which  are  still  the  pride  of  all 
men  and  women  of  Virginia  stock.  Nevertheless,  we 
have  here  to  credit  to  these  same  public-spirited 
Ohioans  of  the  old  school  the  bringing  in  of  the 
original  seed  from  whence  the  great  Percheron  har- 
vest of  our  own  times  has  been  reaped.  In  short, 
we  have  now  to  record  that  the  importation  into 
Ohio  in  1851  of  the  two  French  stallions  Normandy 
and  Louis  Napoleon  was  followed  by  results  of 
which  their  importers  little  dreamed,  and  that  in 
the  career  of  the  one  in  Ohio  and  of  the  other  in 
Illinois  we  have  revealed  the  solid  base  upon  which 
the  subsequent  popularity  of  the  French  horse  of 
heavy  draft  throughout  the  United  States  really 
rests. 

It  Avould  be  interesting  if  we  could  trace  the  exact 
origin  of  these  two  successful  stallions,  but  this  is 
now  impossible.  We  know  that  they  were  not 
bought  in  The  Perche  by  the  men  who  imported 
them.  The  importers  probably  never  had  heard  the 
name.    It  is  a  fact,  nevertheless,  that  at  that  date 


112  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

The  Perclie  was  a  prolific  producer  of  horses  of  this 
type,  and  that,  as  we  have  already  shown,  the  farm- 
ers of  that  province  were  free  sellers  of  colts  to  out- 
side buyers.*  It  will  never  be  positively  known, 
however,  whether  or  not  these  horses  were  of  the 
true  Percheron  blood.  What  little  is  known  about 
the  breeding  of  Normandy  is  vague  and  of  Louis 
Napoleon's  ancestry  nothing  whatever  is  available. 
We  know  that  both  were  bought  in  the  vicinity  of 
Eouen  and  that  Normandy  was  bred  near  that  city, 
but  from  what  sort  of  ancestry  tradition  sayeth 
naught.  Their  importers  had  not  penetrated  as  far 
as  The  Perche.    Here  are  the  known  facts: 

Normandy,  or  Pleasant  Valley  Bill. — Hitherto  it 
has  been  popularly  supposed  that  in  1851  two  stal- 
lions only  were  imported  from  France,  the  one  being 
Louis  Napoleon  281  and  the  other  Normandy  351,  or 
Pleasant  Valley  Bill,  as  he  was  well-nigh  universally 
known  during  his  lifetime.  So  far  tradition  has  been 
right  as  to  the  importations,  but  wrong  as  to  the 
number  of  horses.  Dr.  Marcus  Brown,  Circleville, 
0.,  really  imported  two  stallions,  so  that  in  1851 
three  entire  horses  came  from  the  northern  part  of 


*  In  a  book  entitled  "European  Vineyards,"  written  more  than 
fifty  years  ago,  Mr.  Wm.  J.  Flagg-,  speaking-  of  the  heavy  horses  in 
harness  in  the  Bordeaux  district,  says: 

"Two  farmers,  whom  I  afterwards  met  while  traveling  in 
Normandy,  told  me  the  Perche  country  was  really  the  home  of  the 
breed  and  that  it  was  their  custom  to  buy  there  six  months'  colts, 
which  they  raised  and  broke,  working  them  from  two  years  old, 
and  selling  them  when  they  got  to  be  five  or  six  years  old,  the 
prices  obtained  for  full-grown  and  well-broken  animals  ranging 
from  $200  to  $250.  I  am  glad  to  learn  they  are  at  length  bringing 
them  to  America,  where  a  late  importation  sold  for  prices  which 
averagred  $2,500." 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  113 

France  to  Ohio.  Proof  that  Dr.  Brown  imported 
two  stallions  is  complete,  or  rather  that  Samuel 
Holman,  Chester  Springs,  Pa.,  who  was  entrusted  by 
Dr.  Brown  with  the  task  of  procuring  for  him  a 
French  horse,  bought  two  with  Dr.  Brown's  money 
and  took  one  of  them  for  himself. 

Among  Dr.  Brown's  papers  turned  over  in  con- 
nection with  the  sale  of  a  half -interest  in  ''Old  Bill" 
to  the  late  T.  C.  Bigelow,  Columbus,  0.,  there  is  a 
letter  from  Samuel  Holman  dated  at  London,  Eng- 
land, July  10,  1851,  which  reads: 

"I  leave  these  few  lines  to  inform  you  that  I  have 
used  the  £100  got  of  you  for  the  purchase  of  a 
horse.  I  have  bought  two,  one  for  you  and  one  for 
myself.  The  one  is  a  two-year-old  and  the  other 
three  years  old.  They  are  strong  able  colts.  I  sup- 
pose will  weigh  1,200  to  1,400  pounds  each  now.  The 
color  does  not  please  me  exactly  and  another  objec- 
tion I  had  to  them  was  that  they  cut  all  their  foals' 
tails  off  as  soon  as  they  are  foaled  in  this  country  and 
consequently  both  are  short-tails.  Their  colors  are 
darkish  silver,  black  legs,  manes  and  tails.  How- 
ever, I  concluded  to  risk  them." 

The  remainder  of  the  letter  goes  into  details  con- 
cerning shipping.  Attached  to  this  are  the  original 
French  certificates  of  sale  and  identification,  inter- 
esting mainly  as  descriptive  of  the  breed  to  which 
these  horses  belonged,  thus: 

''Rouen,  July  1,  1851. 

"I  do  hereby  certify  that  the  two  Diligence  colts 

purchased  from  me  by  Mr.  Sam'l  Holman  of  the 

United  States  of  America  were  bred  and  raised  by 

me  and  from  my  best  brood  mares.     The  stock  is 


114  A    HJSTOKV   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

pure  and  I  consider  them  as  fine  as  I  ever  sold  and 
I  doubt  whether  a  better  pair  of  colts  can  be  found 
in  all  Normandv. 

"Z.  PIMONT." 

Follows  then  this  certificate: 

''Havre,  July  16,  1851. 

' '  This  is  to  certify  that  I  shipped  the  two  Norman 
colts  bought  by  Mr.  Samuel  Holman  of  Z.  Pimont 
of  Eouen  on  the  8th  day  of  July,  1851,  on  board  the 
ship  Scianne,  Capt.  Williams,  consigned  to  R.  W. 
Hopkins  &  Co.,  New  York.  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  M.  Pimont  and  his  stock  of  horses  and  know 
they  are  of  the  finest  diligence  stock,  as  he  keeps 
no  other  kind  on  his  farm.  This  stock  of  horses 
is  held  in  high  estimation  here  on  account  of  their 
great  bone  and  muscular  power,  quick  action  and 
durability  and  I  consider  the  pair  sent  as  a  fair  sam- 
ple of  the  stock. 

''Y.  BARBE.^' 

Next  comes  the  statement  of  the  import  agents  in 
this  w4se: 

"New  York,  August  30,  1851. 

"We  do  hereby  certify  that  the  two  gray  horses 
consigned  to  us  by  Mr.  Samuel  Holman  when  re- 
ceived on  board  the  packet  ship  Scianne,  Capt. 
Williams,  on  the  12tli  day  of  August,  1851,  in  good 
condition,  and  delivered  them  according  to  his  or- 
ders, one  to  his  brother  F.  Holman,  and  the  other 
to  Doct.  Brown  of  Ohio. 

"B.  H.  HOPKINS  &  CO.'' 

These  letters  readily  attest  the  fact  that  two 
diligence  stallions  were  imported  by  Dr.  Brown  and 
Samuel  Holman  in  1851.  Further  reference  will 
be  made  to  the  Holman  horse.  These  letters  and 
certificates  prove  that  Pleasant  Valley  Bill,  or  Nor- 


FIRST  FRENCH   HORSES    iX   AMERICA  115 

mandy,  and  his  mate  were  of  the  "true  diligence 
type."  Fortunately  we  can  even  at  this  late  date 
tell,  approximately  at  least,  what  the  type  was  like 
from  the  illustration  of  Normandy  j^resented  here- 
with. This  cut  was  made  from  a  large  and  very 
clear  daguerreotype  in  the  possession  of  T.  L.  Bige- 
low,  Columbus,  0.,  son  of  and  successor  in  business 
to  the  late  owner  of  the  horse,  and  to  whom  we 
desire  to  express  our  thanks  for  his  aid  in  reaching 
the  exact  history  of  this  importation.  It  will  appear 
that  Louis  Napoleon  and  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  were 
of  two  distinct  types,  though  imported  from  the 
same  district  of  France  in  the  same  summer. 

A  Great  Career. — Just  past  two  years  of  age  when 
imported,  Normandy  351  was  located  by  Dr.  Brown 
at  his  home  town  of  Circleville,  0.,  and  at  first  was 
not  very  popular  in  the  stud  as  a  country  stallion. 
Dr.  Brown  has  left  no  written  statement  among  liis 
papers  intimating  whether  he  intended  when  he 
started  for  Europe  that  spring  to  buy  a  stallion  or 
not.  He  was  an  enthusiastic  advocate  and  supporter 
of  all  improved  methods  of  agriculture  and  stock 
breeding,  hence  it  is  considered  more  than  likely  that 
he  had  such  an  importation  in  mind  when  going 
abroad  in  the  spring  of  1851.  For  years  he  owned 
the  Pickaway  County  fair  grounds  at  Circleville, 
and  gave  their  use  free  of  charge  to  the  Pickaway 
County  Agricultural  Society.  He  once  offered  to 
donate  Normandy  to  that  organization  provided  it 
would  stand  him  for  public  service  at  the  fair 
grounds,  but  that  offer  was  curtly  declined  and  in 


11()  A   HISTORY    OF    THli  PERCHEHON    HORSE 

1856  Dr.  Brown  sold  the  horse  to  Bigelow  &  Marshall, 

who  removed  him  to  the  town  then  called  Pleasant 

Valley  but  now  known  as  Plain  City.     There  the 

stallion  achieved  a  splendid   reputation,   begetting 

an  amazingly  numerous  progeny  and  finally  passing 

into  the  hands  of  the  late  Thomas  Jones,  father  of 

C.  M.  Jones,  now  treasurer  of  the  Percheron  Society 

of  America  and  resident  on  the  old  homestead.    In 

his  possession  Normandy  died  in  1874  full  of  years 

and  honors,  having  been  owned  by  Mr.  Jones  just 

ten  years.    Many  good  stallion  colts  as  well  as  fillies 

remained  after  him,  and  his  descendants  were  widely 

disseminated. 

While  at  Plain  City  Normandy  became  variously 

known  as  ''Pleasant  Valley  Bill,^'^  ''Old  Bill,"  and 

^'The  Valley  Horse,"  the  title  by  which  he  is  best 

remembered  being  the  first  of  these.     Few  people 

knew  that  his  real  name  was  Normandy  351.     He 

did  more  than  any  other  horse  to  popularize  the 

French  type  in  the  state  that  reaped  the  benefit  of 

his  services.    He  was  extraordinarily  prolific  and  is 

known  to  have  begotten  as  many  as  110  colts  for 

wdiich  the  fees  were  paid  in  a  single  season.     Of 

his  extreme  fertility  the  late  Thomas  Jones  is  quoted 

in  Volume  1  of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of  America 

as  having  said: 

"It  is  safe  to  say  that  he  averaged  sixty  colts  a 
year  for  eighteen  years  and  that  they  sold  at  three 
and  four  years  old  for  an  average  of  $200,  many  of 
them  having  brought  $500  each,  and  some  as  much 
as  $1,000.  It  was  when  the  United  States  govern- 
ment began  scouring  the  country  for  good  horses 


FIRST  FRENCPI  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  117 

during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  that  the  seal  of 
fame  was  set  upon  Valley  Bill  for  all  time.  His  get 
readily  brought  from  $50  to  $125  more  than  the 
common  stock  of  the  country  where  he  stood,  the 
general  belief  being  that  those  who  had  Bill's  colts 
to  sell  to  Uncle  Sam  received  on  an  average  $80  per 
head  for  them  more  than  was  paid  for  other  varie- 
ties." 

His  get  were  wonderfully  uniform,  none  of  them 
very  large,  and  the  great  number  of  red-roans  which 
followed  his  cover  has  given  rise  to  a  belief  quite 
general  in  some  quarters  that  he  was  when  young 
of  that  ruddy  hue,  shedding  out  to  white  at  a  com- 
paratively early  age.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  however, 
in  his  youth  he  was  a  silvery  gray  with  dark  legs, 
mane,  and  tail  and  later  became  well-nigh  snow 
white.  Nothing  need  be  said  here  descriptive  of  his 
conformation.  Our  illustration  shows  more  clearly 
Avhat  he  was  like  than  could  be  told  in  words.  He 
stood  about  15.3  hands  and  weighed  between  1,300 
and  1,400  pounds. 

The  Holman  Horse. — Not  nearly  so  much  is  known 
of  the  three-year-old  gray  diligence  colt  that  accom- 
panied Pleasant  Valley  Bill  on  his  journey  from 
Havre  to  New  York.  Lewis  E.  Holman,  son  of 
Samuel  Holman,  the  importer,  Phoenixville,  Pa., 
takes  up  the  thread  of  the  story  from  the  time  the 
two  colts  reached  New  York  in  1851  in  the  following 
statement : 

''Gray  Billy,  as  we  called  our  horse,  was  shipped 
to  the  home  of  my  father's  brother,  Frederic  Holman, 
to  await  my  father's  arrival.     From  there  he  was 


118  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

brou^iit  to  our  farm  on  which  we  still  live  and  alwavs 

O  V 

have  lived.  The  reason  we  do  not  know  his  age 
when  he  died  is  that  after  keeping  him  many  years 
we  sold  him  to  a  Mr.  Bird  of  New  Jersey.  How 
long  he  lived  after  that  we  do  not  know.  His  weight 
was  between  1,300  and  1,400  pounds.  His  colts  were 
fine  and  he  was  a  sure  foal-getter.  He  was  not  popu- 
lar at  first,  but  it  was  not  long  before  he  was  appre- 
ciated, though  not  in  our  immediate  neighborhood. 
Buyers  came  from  New  York  and  many  places  of 
distance  to  buy  his  colts  as  they  were  remarkabl)^ 
line  and  far  superior  to  the  colts  by  ordinary  horses. 
He  was  a  dark  silver,  dappled,  three  years  old,  one 
year  older  than  Valley  Bill.  He  was  perfectly  gentle 
and  for  his  size  very  active,  as  were  all  of  his  colts. ' ' 

The  illustration  of  Gray  Billy  is  from  a  curious 
old  oil  painting  in  the  Holman  home  near  Phoenix- 
ville,  Pa.,  our  engraving  being  a  facsimile  reproduc- 
tion, without  effort  to  correct  its  manifest  crudities. 
Gray  Billy  is  thus  identified  with  the  hitherto  un- 
placed Harmer^s  Norman,  Holmes'  Norman,  Hol- 
man's  Norman,  and  Duke  of  Normandy  172,  recorded 
under  that  number  without  date  of  birth  or  im- 
portation, or  other  data. 

Louis  Napoleon. — In  1851  in  the  course  of  a  trip 
abroad  three  Ohio  men — Erastus  Martin  of  Wood- 
stock, Pearl  Howard  of  the  same  place,  and  young 
James  Fullington  of  Milford  Center,  a  member  of 
a  family  distinguished  in  Ohio  agricultural  history — 
went  from  England  to  France  in  quest  of  Merino 
sheep.  Somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  Rouen 
Martin  saw  a  gray  stallion  with  which  he  was  deeply 
impressed — a  big  one  possessing  the  distinction  of 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  119 

being  kept  for  stud  service  alone.  As  to  where  lie 
came  from  history  is  silent.  This  horse  took  Mr. 
Martin's  fancy,  but  all  efforts  to  buy  him  proved 
futile.  Not  to  be  foiled  entirely,  however,  he  did  the 
next  best  thing  and  bought  a  three-year-old  full 
brother  described  at  that  time  as  ''a  raw,  unfinished 
colt"  but  promising  to  attain  good  size. 

Mr.  Martin  paid  $350  for  the  colt  and  on  rejoining 
his  comrades  told  them  what  he  had  done,  express- 
ing his  belief  that  such  a  stallion  would  do  a  good 
business  in  the  part  of  Ohio  from  which  they  came. 
Besides,  it  would  not  cost  much  to  get  him  homo 
Avith  the  rest  of  the  stock.  Pearl  Howard  declined 
point  blank  to  invest  any  of  his  money  in  so  big  a 
stallion,  but  young  Fullington,  who  was  merely  trav- 
eling with  the  party  on  a  pleasure  jaunt,  committed 
his  brother  Charles,  then  a  well-known  figure  in  Ohio 
stock-breeding  circles,  to  pay  for  a  half  interest  in 
the  horse. 

Landed  safely  in  the  Darby  Plains  country  of 
Ohio,  Louis  Napoleon,  as  this  French-bred  colt  had 
been  named,  met  with  a  chilly  reception.  The  late 
James  H.  Sanders,  founder  of  the  American  Per- 
cheron  Stud  Book,  who  was  born  and  lived  as  a 
young  man  in  central  Ohio,  has  left  the  following 
statement  concerning  this  horse: 

^' Louis  Napoleon  was  a  gray  three-year-old  of 
good  size,  but  not  of  the  largest  type,  short-legged, 
closel}^  ribbed,  blocky,  and  compact,  with  a  neck 
rather  short  and  head  a  little  too  large  for  elegance, 
but  withal  clearly  cut,  about  151/2  hands  high,  and 


120  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

weighing,  in  full  flesh,  about  1,600  pounds.  At  that 
time  he  was  a  dark  iron-gray,  but  long  before  his 
death,  he  became  perfectly  white. 

''At  this  time  the  writer  was  living  within  a  few 
miles  of  Messrs.  FuUington  and  Martin,  and  well 
does  he  remember  the  jokes  that  were  hurled  at 
Charley  FuUington  for  what  was  called  his  folly  in 
bringing  such  a  horse  all  the  way  from  France.  The 
chunky,  short-legged,  gray  colt  and  his  importers 
were  the  butt  of  every  horseman  in  that  country; 
but  the  Fullingtons  believed  in  him  firmly,  and  bred 
several  mares  to  him  in  the  spring  of  1852.  His 
service  fee  that  season  was  put  at  $10  to  insure, 
yet  such  was  the  prejudice  against  him  that  only 
ten  mares  were  bred  to  him,  and  seven  of  this  num- 
ber belonged  to  his  owners.  In  the  meantime,  Mr. 
Erastus  Martin  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
horse  was  destined  to  prove  a  bad  investment,  and 
accordingly,  he  embraced  an  opportunity  of  selling 
his  interest  to  Mr.  Gordon,  one  of  his  neighbors. 

''In  the  spring  of  1853  it  was  thought  best  to  try 
a  new  field  with  the  big  gray  colt,  and  accordingly 
he  was  sent  to  Dayton,  and  his  service  fee  was  fixed 
at  $15 ;  but  he  did  very  little  better  there  than  he  had 
done  during  the  previous  season  in  Union  County. 
Early  in  the  summer  of  1853,  the  few  colts  that  he 
had  got  in  Union  County  during  the  previous  season 
began  to  show  signs  of  that  remarkable  excellence 
that  was  destined  soon  to  make  the  despised  French 
horse  famous  throughout  the  entire  w^est,  and  then 
came  a  demand  that  he  should  be  returned  to  that 
county.  Accordingly,  during  the  next  season  (1854) 
he  was  again  kept  at  Milford  Center,  Union  County, 
and  although  his  fee  was  placed  at  $15 — a  price  hith- 
erto unheard  of  in  that  region — he  was  Avell  patron- 
ized by  the  people  who  had  two  years  before  ridi- 
culed him.'' 


LOUIS  NAPOLEON.— DRAWN  FROM  AN  OLD  PHOTOGRAPH. 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  121 

It  is  related  that  Howard  had  remarked  when  the 
purchase  of  a  one-third  interest  in  the  colt  had  first 
been  suggested  to  him  that  "when  he  wanted  to 
breed  his  mares  to  a  bull  he  would  choose  one  with 
horns, '^  and  that  sentiment,  implying  that  the  horse 
was  too  big  and  clumsy,  was  very  general  at  first 
among  the  owners  of  mares  around  AYoodstock,  Mil- 
ford  Center,  and  contiguous  territory. 

Taken  to  Illinois.— A.  P.  Cushman  of  DeWitt  Co., 
111.,  a  trader  widely  known  in  his  day,  while  visiting 
in  central  Ohio  that  fall  saw  for  the  first  time  ' '  The 
French  Horse,"  as  Louis  Napoleon  was  then  gener- 
ally known.  At  a  glance  his  practiced  eye  grasped 
the  potentialities  inherent  in  the  big  dark-gray  stal- 
lion, then  turning  six  years  of  age.  To  him  it  seemed 
merely  a  matter  of  sufficient  size  in  the  mares,  and 
Tazewell,  DeWitt,  Logan,  and  other  Illinois  counties 
had  many  big  ones  sired  by  Oakley's  English  Cart 
Horse  Samson  and  his  sons.  So  for  $1,500  Mr.  Cush- 
man acquired  "The  French  Horse,"  and  "roaded" 
him  to  his  new^  home  in  the  Prairie  State. 

Acquired  by  the  Dillons. — Louis  Napoleon  made 
the  season  of  1855  at  Waynesville,  and  within  the 
next  three  years  various  undivided  interests  in  him 
were  traded  and  sold  until  finally  in  the  fall  of  1858 
Ellis  Dillon  acquired  a  one-fourth  interest  in  addi- 
tion to  the  half  already  owned  by  Isaiah  and  Levi 
Dillon,  thus  giving  them  a  controlling  interest.  The 
Dillons,  afterwards  to  acquire  such  prominence  in 
the  trade,  were  at  that  time  residents  of  Tazewell 
county,  and  to  their  home  Louis  Napoleon  was  moved 


122  A   HISTORY    OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

•and  there  he  made  the  regular  season  of  1859.  His 
success  was  not  great  that  spring  and  on  July  4  he 
was  sent  to  the  farm  of  Eli  Hodgson  in  Grand  Ridge 
township,  La  Salle  county,  to  stand  during  the  fall. 
These  details  are  offered  to  show  how  lacking  the 
horse  was  at  first  in  popularity.  His  colts  from  the 
Samson  mares  had  not  yet  begun  to  show  their  worth. 
Purchase  of  the  odd  one-fourth  interest  in  the  horse 
had  been  precipitated  by  the  declaration  by  Cushman 
that  he  would  move  him  to  Kentucky  in  search  of 
fields  more  easy  of  conquest.  During  the  fall  season 
of  1859  Louis  Napoleon  covered  but  seven  mares, 
five  of  them  the  property  of  Mr.  Hodgson. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1860  the  fast-whitening  stal- 
lion was  returned  to  the  Dillon  headquarters,  and 
as  his  foals  develo[)ed  his  business  in  the  stud  in- 
creased. By  mid-summer  the  demand  for  his  services 
had  become  pressing  and  great  secrecy  was  main- 
tained regarding  the  date  at  which  he  was  to  be 
moved  again  to  the  Hodgson  farm  in  La  Salle.  Young 
Martin  Hodgson — still  a  prosperous  breeder,  and  for 
many  years  a  member  of  the  firm  of  Prichard  & 
Hodgson,  now  dissolved — rode  the  white  horse  home 
in  the  dead  hour  of  the  night  following  the  celebra- 
tion of  the  national  holiday.  But  so  keen  had  been 
the  scouting  that  when  the  journey  was  ended  at  a 
little  before  dawn,  it  is  related  that  no  less  than 
forty-two  mares  were  tied  to  the  fences  surrounding 
the  Hodgson  homestead  awaiting  their  chance  to  be 
bred  or  booked.  He  had  served  but  seven  the  season 
before.     It  is  at  this  point,  therefore,  that  we  un- 


CHARLES   OAKLEY— OWNER   OF   SAMSOX. 


FIRST  FRENCH   HORSES   IN   .UIERICA  123 

cover  the  real  foundation  of  tlie  popularity  of  the 
French  horse  of  heavy  draft  in  the  western  states. 

Louis  Napoleon  made  several  spring  seasons  in 
Tazewell  county  and  fall  seasons  at  the  Hodgson 
farm  in  La  Salle.  In  1864  he  was  moved  by  the  Dil- 
lons to  Normal,  in  McLean  county,  where  some  two 
years  later  he  became  so  badly  infected  that  the 
operation  of  penotomy  was  resorted  to  in  the  hope 
of  partially  preserving  his  utility  in  the  stud.  After 
this,  it  is  related,  he  sired  three  foals,  dying  in  1871 
on  the  farm  of  B.  Caldw^ell  in  Woodford  county  to 
whom  the  Dillons  had  presented  him.  First  and  last, 
it  is  believed,  Louis  Napoleon  begot  some  400  foals, 
not  one  of  which  was  out  of  a  purebred  mare.  Only 
the  merest  traces  of  his  blood  are  discovered  among 
our  registered  stock,  a  few  recorded  via  the  top- 
cross  route  descending  from  him.  His  number  in  the 
Percheron  Stud  Book  is  281. 

There  is  no  question  whatever  that  to  the  excel- 
lence of  his  colts  and  fillies  from  mares  of  Samson 
(English)  blood  was  due  the  high  degree  of  popu- 
larity Avhich  Louis  Napoleon  achieved  in  Illinois. 
He  did  far  better  with  them  than  with  any  others. 
Practically  all  of  his  male  progeny  were  maintained 
entire,  quite  a  few  of  them  selling  for  $800,  $1,000, 
and  even  longer  prices.  He  bred  fairly  true  to  his 
own  color,  and  in  the  hands  of  so  shrewd  a  federa- 
tion as  the  Dillons  no  stone  was  left  unturned  to 
keep  him  in  the  limelight.  Displays  of  his  grade 
colts  were  for  years  features  of  the  Illinois  State  and 
other  fairs.    It  is  doubtful  if  there  is  another  resrion 


124  A    lilSTOKV   OF   THK  PERCHERON   HORSE 

in  the  whole  United  States  in  which  we  couki  have 
met  mares  of  better  weight  or  conformation.  Many 
of  these  weighed  1,400  pounds,  some  as  much  as 
1,500,  and  a  few  even  up  to  1,600  pounds — big, 
roomy,  shapely,  solid  matrons,  admirably  fitted  to 
mate  with  a  stallion  of  Louis  Napoleon's  size,  build, 
and  type. 

Various  alleged  portraits  of  this  famous  horse  have 
in  the  past  enjoyed  a  meretricious  vogue,  but  all 
doubt  as  to  his  appearance  at  maturity  is  now  defin- 
itely removed  by  the  illustration  herewith  pre- 
sented, prepared  from  an  enlargement  of  a  small 
daguerreotype  taken  in  1852  when  the  horse  was  four 
years  old  and  dapple-gray  in  color.  In  height  at  full 
maturity  he  stood  between  15.3  and  16  hands,  and  his 
greatest  weight  was  1,630  pounds. 

Maryland  Importation  of  1853. — In  Volume  I  of 
the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of  America  Col.  Charles 
Carroll,  Baltimore,  Md.,  is  credited  with  having  im- 
ported the  stallion  Chartres  88,  but  no  statement  is 
made  as  to  color  or  date  of  birth.  In  that  volume, 
too,  J.  Howard  McHenry,  Pikesville,  Md.,  is  named 
as  the  importer  of  two  mares — Lily  572  and  Snow- 
drop 607 — gray  and  white  in  order  written,  but  with- 
out certainty  as  to  age.  To  Snowdrop  the  produc- 
tion of  two  purebred  colts  is  assigned,  both  being 
stallions  and  both  by  Duke  of  Normandy  172 — the 
Gray  Billy  imported  in  the  ship  Scianne  along  with 
Pleasant  Valley  Bill.  Nothing  further  of  the  his- 
tory of  these  importations  of  1853  has  been  reached. 
Both  of  the  mares  died  at  a  comparatively  early 
age,  the  two  stallions  by  Duke  of  Normandy  172  out 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  125 

of  Snowdrop  being  the  only  progeny  alleged  to  have 
descended  from  them.  Nothing  more  is  related  of 
the  stallion  Chartres  and  as  the  compiler  of  the  stud 
book  working  indefatigably  forty  years  ago  was  un- 
able to  unearth  other  data,  no  more  space  need  be 
occupied  in  their  behalf.  The  bare  facts,  however, 
are  interesting  as  showing  that  the  home-raised 
stock  of  purebreds  was  slowly  being  augmented  and 
as  tending  to  ^x  definitely  the  identity  of  Duke  of 
Normandy  172  and  Gray  Billy.  Of  the  Maryland 
importations  of  1853  it  may  then  be  fairly  said  that 
they  left  no  sign  so  far  as  has  been  discovered  up  to 
this  late  day. 

Rollin  Imported  in  1856. — By  the  spring  of  1856 
the  few  colts  left  by  Louis  Napoleon  in  Ohio  had 
begun  to  display  their  merit  and  Erastus  Martin, 
who  had  originally  purchased  the  gray  stallion  near 
Eouen,  in  company  with  John  Gordon,  also  of  Wood- 
stock, 0.,  conceived  the  idea  that  a  bay  French  horse 
would  take  well  where  the  lighter  color  had  failed 
of  popularity.  Accordingly  an  order  for  a  bay  stal- 
lion was  dispatched  by  some  of  the  stock  buyers 
searching  for  Merino  sheep  in  France  and  in  due 
course  of  time  the  dapple-bay  stallion  Kollin  418 
landed  at  Woodstock.  Great  preparations  had  been 
made  for  his  reception  on  the  Gordon  farm,  a  new 
stable  having  been  built  during  the  summer  for  his 
occupancy.  This  shows  that  a  hearty  welcome  await- 
ed the  newcomer  and  high  hopes  were  entertained 
that  he  would  prove  a  mighty  success.  Mr.  Gordon 
had  been  associated  in  the  last  Ohio  ownership  of 


126  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Louis  Napoleon,  when  sootli  to  say  the  big  gray- 
horse  had  come  to  be  looked  npon  more  or  less  as 
*' trading  stock/'  which  is  well  proved  by  the  terms 
of  the  long-time  deal  on  which  he  was  acquired  by  a 
professional  trader  in  an  era  when  good  horses  were 
easily  cashed.  Sentiment  had  begun  to  veer,  how- 
ever, in  favor  of  the  imported  horse. 

Kollin  was  somewhat  larger  than  Louis  Napoleon, 
very  thick  at  both  ends  and  in  the  middle,  not  at  all 
high-headed  or  stylish,  but  short-legged  and  drafty, 
and  an  impressive  sire,  a  peculiar  rotundity  of  barrel 
persisting  in  his  get  and  descendants  for  genera- 
tions, as  well  as  a  tendency  to  the  production  of 
red-roans.  H.  Dorr  Martin,  a  banker  of  Woodstock, 
O.,  and  son  of  the  late  Erastus  Martin,  says  of  Eollin: 

**He  left  a  lot  of  good  colts.  I  remember  some  of 
them — mostly  bays  and  browns,  good  blocky  fellows. 
When  the  rebellion  broke  out  we  had  some  of  his 
stock  and  they  sold  like  hot  cakes.  They  had  good 
action  for  such  large  horses. ' ' 

Despite  his  increased  popularity,  however,  Eollin 
was  not  destined  to  remain  long  in  the  Darby  Plains 
country.  Inter-ownership  trouble  of  some  sort 
forced  his  sale  and  in  1859  the  big  bay  horse  left 
the  new  barn  that  had  been  built  for  him  on  a  journey 
west  to  Onarga,  111.,  L.  Russ,  later  of  the  firm  of 
Euss,  McCourtey  &  Slattery  of  that  point,  having 
purchased  him  at  a  price  recalled  by  Mr.  Martin  as 
$3,000.  Eollin  stood  in  Onarga  and  nearby  towns 
for  several  seasons,  doing  a  fine  business,  and  in 
1865  was  bought  by  Jas.  L.  Owen,  Mokena,  111.,  as 


Henri/  Guy     1 A  [  ErasiusMartin 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  127 

whose  property  lie  died  six  years  later.  He  was  the 
second  imported  stallion  in  Illinois  and  quite  a  num- 
ber of  mares  by  Louis  Napoleon  were  sent  from  Taze- 
well, McLean  and  La  Salle  counties  to  be  bred  to 
him.  His  get  included  few  grays,  bays  and  browns 
persisting  strongly  except  when  the  red-roan  cropped 
out,  so  that  his  descendants  could  not  be  readily 
followed,  except  by  records  privately  kept,  among 
the  native  stock  of  the  region  where  he  stood  for 
service.  It  is  certain,  though,  that  Eollin  was  a 
successful  sire  and  did  much  to  improve  the  farm 
horses  of  northern  Illinois. 

Darby  Plains  Importation  of  1857. — Along  in  the 
later  '50 's  Ohio  stockmen  were  very  active  in  the 
effort  to  improve  their  sheep  and  cattle  and  in  1857 
the  Darby  Plains  Importing  Co.,  the  membership  of 
which  included  stockmen  in  Union,  Madison  and 
Champaign  counties,  dispatched  representatives  to 
Europe.  In  this  delegation  were  Henry  Guy, 
Mechanic sburg,  and  Charles  Fullington,  Milford 
Center.  After  they  had  acquired  cattle  and  other 
stock  in  Britain  they  crossed  the  channel  to  France 
in  quest  of  Merino  sheep  and  horses.  Journeying 
together  to  Eouen  Mr.  Fullington  left  Mr.  Guy  and 
continued  further  afield  after  sheep. 

Mr.  Guy  relates  personally  that  having  taken  up 
a  coign  of  vantage  in  front  of  an  inn  in  Eouen  he  sat 
for  days  watching  the  horses  as  they  were  driven 
to  town  from  the  surrounding  country.  Finally  he 
saw  a  four-horse  outfit,  the  leaders  of  Avhich  just 
filled  his  eye.    After  much  haggling  he  succeeded  in 


128  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

buying  these  at  $500  fox"  the  pair.  The  wheelers 
Mr.  Guy  describes  as  having  weighed  probably  a 
ton  apiece  and  entirely  too  big  for  his  purpose.  They 
were  held  at  $500  each,  or  just  twice  as  much  as 
the  smaller  leaders.  All  were  gray,  but  the  pairs 
were  of  quite  distinct  types.  A  few  days  later  a 
third  stallion  was  bought,  and  also  the  mare  Doll 
540,  the  first  ever  brought  directly  from  France  west 
of  the  Alleghanies.  One  of  the  pair  of  leaders  died 
on  the  ocean,  the  survivor  being  the  famous  Baker 
Horse  21.  His  shipmate  was  Nonesuch  346,  other- 
wise and  in  his  day  better  known  as  Old  Bob.  This 
was  probably  the  last  importation  ever  made  on  a 
sailing  ship  and  a  terribly  rough  voyage  was  en- 
countered. Though  badly  battered  the  two  stallions 
and  the  mare  after  a  time  reached  the  Darby  Plains 
alive  and  each  won  way  to  high  renown.  Doll  went 
through  many  hands  and  proved  prolific. 

Put  up  at  auction  by  the  importers,  the  unnamed 
gray  leader  bought  right  out  of  the  harness  in  the 
streets  of  Eouen  was  purchased  by  Dr.  Baker,  from 
whom  he  took  his  name,  for  lack  of  a  better,  and 
from  that  year  (1857)  he  passed  through  many  own- 
erships but  always  did  well.  The  Baker  Horse  was 
not  a  big  one  by  any  means,  weighing  about  1,500 
pounds.  He  was  of  the  diligence  type  and  a  re- 
markably fertile  and  impressive  sire.  In  1864  he 
was  purchased  by  Abram  Curl  of  Woodstock,  0.,  and 
he  stood  there  until  1867.  Of  the  Baker  Horse  H. 
Dorr  Martin  writes: 

**He  was  a  finely  shaped  horse  and  left  some  of 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  129 

the  best  draft  colts  of  any  of  the  early  importations. 
They  were  very  tough  and  lived  to  a  good  old  age. 
Mr.  Curl  had  a  team  of  horses  by  the  Baker  Horse 
which  I  remember  very  well  that  lived  to  be  about 
25  years  of  age  and  worked  every  day.  I  personally 
owned  a  mare  of  this  stock  that  raised  me  thirteen 
colts  straight.  Some  of  them  sold  as  high  as  $300 
and  $500  apiece." 

To  Nonesuch  346,  or  Old  Bob,  is  due  the  original 
popularity  of  the  French  horse  in  Delaware  Co.,  0., 
a  county  that  has  since  that  time  been  a  leader  in 
Ohio  draft  horse  production.  At  the  sale  held  by 
the  Darby  Plains  Importing  Co.,  in  1857,  "Bob" 
was  bought  by  Peter  Bland,  Milford  Center,  one  of 
the  staunchest  supporters  of  the  type  from  the  ear- 
liest days,  and  by  him  was  resold  to  Lewis  Lee  of 
Delaware,  at  which  place  the  stallion  stood  until 
the  year  before  his  death  in  1875.  Old  Bob  was  about 
the  same  size  and  type  as  the  Baker  Horse  and  dur- 
ing his  sojourn  in  Delaware  had  all  he  could  do  in 
the  stud.  Assuredly  he  made  plain  the  path  trodden 
by  the  breed  in  later  times. 

Doll  540  w^as  the  largest  of  the  three  animals  im- 
ported by  the  Darby  Plains  Co.  in  1857.  She  stood 
16.3  hands  at  the  shoulder  and  weighed  upwards  of 
1,700  pounds,  being  of  a  larger,  more  rangy  type 
than  the  two  stallions  that  accompanied  her  across 
the  ocean.  She  was  possessed  of  the  characteristic 
"Frenchy"  or  "creasy"  rump,  then  a  marked  fea- 
ture of  the  horses  being  brought  over  from  France. 
She  was  rather  short  and  droopy  in  her  quarters, 
had  heavy  bone  with  some  feather  and  in  color  was 


130  A  HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

gray.  In  the  spring  of  1866  Charles  Fullington,  who 
by  that  time  had  acquired  her,  sent  her  to  the 
Thomas  Jones  farm  at  Pleasant  Valley  to  be  bred  to 
Old  Bill.  Prior  to  that  year  she  had  produced  four 
foals  by  the  Baker  Horse  21,  those  of  1858  and  1859 
dying  young  and  those  of  1860  and  1862  surviving 
and  being  named  respectively  Doll  541  and  White 
Rose  613.  In  1866  the  late  Thomas  Jones  bought 
old  Doll  540  and  the  filly  at  her  side  by  the  Baker 
Horse  21,  later  named  Eose  604.  The  price  for  the 
pair  was  $400.  In  1867  she  foaled  the  filly  Eugenia 
13000  by  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  and  during  that  sum- 
mer she  and  the  foal  were  sold  to  A.  Gill  and  K.  L. 
Wood  for  $1,000.  In  1869  old  Doll  produced  the 
filly  Josephine  1502  by  the  big  horse  Conqueror  109, 
a  five-year-old  gray  of  great  scale  imported  in  1867 
by  Wallace,  Watkins  &  Co.,  Marion,  0. 

Shortly  after  this  Gill  &  Wood  dissolved  their 
partnership.  Gill  retaining  the  old  mare  and  Wood 
the  filly  Eugenia,  which  afterwards  produced  several 
foals  for  him.  In  1870,  again  to  the  cover  of  Con- 
queror, old  Doll  produced  the  stallion  Thompson 
461,  probably  the  heaviest  French  colt  bred  in  the 
United  States  up  to  that  date,  but  phenomenally 
crooked  in  his  hind  legs.  Despite  that  fact  he  is 
said  to  have  proved  a  fairly  successful  sire.  He 
and  Josephine,  both  by  Conqueror  109,  were  consid- 
erably larger  than  the  others  of  old  DolPs  progeny, 
both  exceeding  a  ton  in  weight.  Poor  old  Doll  did 
much  for  her  various  owners  and  for  the  breed  at 
large,  but  Gill,  who  was  a  dour  and  crabbed  citizen 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  131 

with  peculiar  notions  as  to  horse  improvement,  when 
she  became  his  exclusive  property  bred  her  to  a 
Belgian  horse,  after  which  her  usefulness  came  to 
an  end.  The  filly  Eose  604  by  the  Baker  Horse  21 
was  bred  as  a  two-year-old  to  Pleasant  Valley  Bill 
and  produced  three  fillies  in  successive  years  to  his 
cover.  All  of  these  were  prolific,  so  that  the  de- 
scendants of  old  Doll  540  are  very  numerous, 

Kentucky  Importation  of  1859. — Following  the 
Darby  Plains  Importing  Company's  venture  of  1857, 
the  Kentucky  importation  of  1859  takes  chronologi- 
cal precedence.  This  consisted  of  a  stallion  named 
Napoleon  4th  1723  and  a  mare  named  Marie  An- 
toinette. This  importation  was  made  by  Dr.  Nove, 
or  Nave,  for  the  Jessamine  Importing  Co.,  Xicholas- 
ville,  Ky.,  and  the  horse  was  later  transferred  to 
Gen.  W.  C.  Preston,  Lexingi;on,  as  whose  property 
he  died  in  1878.  The  mare  died  in  1863  and  here 
once  more  we  find  no  lasting  impression  left  upon 
the  native  equine  stock. 

Massachusetts  Importation  of  1864. — About  the 
end  of  the  sixth  and  opening  of  the  seventh  decades 
of  the  nineteenth  century  prospects  in  agricultural 
America  were  not  such  as  to  encourage  private  in- 
vestment of  large  sums  in  any  kind  of  live  stock; 
indeed  it  was  not  until  1864  that  further  importa- 
tions were  attempted.  In  that  year  the  Massachu- 
setts Agricultural  Society  imported  the  stallions 
Conqueror  108  and  Orleans  255  and  the  mares  Em- 
press 542,  Lyons  574,  and  Normandy  587.  Here 
again  we  run  up  against  the  dead  wall  of  oblivion, 


132  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  sole  progeny  credited  to  this  band  of  five  being 
a  roan  filly  dropped  in  1866  by  Lyons  to  the  cover 
of  Orleans.    And  there  their  history  stops. 

Gray  Duke. — The  horsemen  of  Ohio  began  anew 
in  1865.  The  shipment  of  that  year  consisted  of 
but  a  single  stallion — Gray  Duke  1724,  a  gray  foaled 
in  1863 — and  was  made  by  the  Gallon  Importing 
Co.,  of  which  J.  M.  White,  Cardington,  0.,  was  the 
leading  spirit.  Mr.  White  was  a  passenger  con- 
ductor on  one  of  the  early  western  railways  and  an 
enthusiastic  horseman  during  his  entire  career.  To 
his  enterprise  may  be  credited  the  first  importation 
of  French  blood  into  the  Gallon  district  and  the  re- 
sumption of  the  business  after  the  close  of  the  war. 
He  personally  sent  money  to  France  for  the  purchase 
of  a  gray  colt  and  then  sold  one-third  interest  in 
the  youngster  to  two  of  his  friends,  the  three  forming 
the  nucleus  of  the  later  prosperous  Gallon  Import- 
ing Co. 

Eastern  Imports  of  1866. — Three  stallions  and  the 
same  number  of  mares  were  brought  across  the  ocean 
in  1866,  S.  W.  Ficklin,  Charlottesville,  Va.,  import- 
ing the  stallions  Bienvenu  37  and  The  Colonel  459 
and  the  mares  Constance  530  and  Eugenia  802.  Both 
of  these  mares  proved  prolific  and  left  recorded  prog- 
eny behind  them. 

In  the  same  year  Dr.  J.  Pembroke  Thorn,  Balti- 
more, Md.,  imported  the  mare  Charlotte  Corday  529, 
but  later  sold  her  to  J.  W.  Hunt,  Eeynolds,  Ky., 
where  all  trace  of  her  is  lost.  In  1870  and  1871  she 
produced  gray  fillies  to  Little  Corporal  274,  a  home- 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  133 

bred  horse  got  by  Duke  of  Normandy  172  (Gray 
Billy),  imported  in  1851  with  Pleasant  Valley  Bill, 
out  of  Snowdrop  607,  imported  into  Maryland  in 
1853. 

First  Direct  Importation  into  Illinois. — It  has  been 
popularly  supposed  that  it  was  not  until  1868  that 
horses  were  imported  direct  from  France  into  Illi- 
nois, but  the  records  show  that  in  this  year  of  1866 
Dr.  A.  G.  Van  Hoorebeke  brought  the  black  stallion 
Lucifer  285  to  Monmouth,  which  advances  the  date 
of  direct  importation  into  the  great  Prairie  common- 
wealth some  two  years.  Indeed  Dr.  Van  Hoorebeke 
is  to  be  credited  with  being  the  pioneer  importer  of 
Illinois  as  he  brought  over  Lucifer  285  in  1866,  the 
gray  Leon  266  in  1868,  the  black  Norma  348  in 
1869,  and  the  gray  Laurent  709  in  1870.  Unfortu- 
nately, Norma  died  the  same  year  that  he  was  im- 
ported. 

Ohio  Active  in  1867. — Ohio  importers  had  it  all  to 
themselves  in  1867,  Brown,  Bigelow  &  Co.,  of  Co- 
lumbus, and  Wallace,  Watkins  &  Co.,  and  Gilmore  & 
Houser,  of  Marion,  being  the  only  firms  recorded  as 
having  engaged  in  the  importing  business  that 
season.  Brown,  Bigelow  &  Co.  included  in  its  mem- 
bership Dr.  Marcus  Brown,  of  Circleville,  importer 
of  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  in  1851,  and  the  late  T.  C. 
Bigelow,  in  his  time  the  leading  team  owner  in  the 
Ohio  capital  and  one  of  the  foremost  horsemen  of 
his  time.  It  was  surely  the  irony  of  fate  that  his 
death  should  have  been  caused  by  injuries  sustained 
in  an  attack  made  upon  him  by  one  of  the  stallions 


134  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

he  imported.  It  is  to  the  courtesy  of  his  son  and 
successor,  T.  L.  Bigelow,  that  this  history  is  indebted 
for  the  portrait  of  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  and  for  much 
authentic  information  gathered  from  his  own  per- 
sonal recollections  and  the  papers  belonging  to  the 
old  firm,  dating  back  to  1851  and  including  the  orig- 
inal documents  in  French  relating  to  the  purchase 
by  Mr.  Holman  of  Old  Bill  and  Gray  Billy  at  Rouen 
in  1851. 

Brown,  Bigelow  &  Co.  imported  in  that  year  Na- 
poleon 325,  Black  Robert  54,  and  Duke  of  France 
165.  Wallace,  Watkins  &  Co.  brought  Conqueror 
109,  a  big  gray  horse  already  referred  to  in  connec- 
tion with  the  history  of  old  Doll  540,  and  Gilmore 
&  Houser  had  Napoleon  2d  335,  later  sold  to  E.  Dillon 
&  Co.,  Normal,  111.  The  two  Ohio  firms  last  men- 
tioned were  later  amalgamated  into  the  Marion 
County  Importing  Co.,  which  at  one  time  was  classed 
as  handling  better  stallions  on  the  average  than  any 
one  in  the  business  at  the  time.  ^'Wat'^  Watkins 
was  the  brains  of  the  coalition,  but  quit  before  the 
ball  had  been  fairly  set  a-rolling.  There  is  a  story 
told  of  him  in  connection  with  the  Illinois  State  Fair 
of  1872,  which  throws  light  on  the  state  of  live  stock 
improvement  in  that  era: 

Decatur  was  the  place  of  holding  the  Illinois  show 
that  season  and  substantially  all  the  men  interested 
in  draft  horses  were  on  hand,  the  count  showing  a 
total  of  forty-two  imported  and  grade  animals  on 
exhibition.  These  were  all  lined  up  in  some  sort  of  a 
parade  and  ''Wat"  Watkins  happened  to  be  stand- 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  135 

ing  next  W.  E.  Pricliard,  now,  as  then,  a  resident  of 
Ottawa,  111. 

^'Pricliard,"  quoth  lYatkins,  ''look  at  that,  forty- 
two  head,  count  ^em.  Tell  you  what;  this  business 
is  going  to  be  overdone  and  I'm  going  to  stand  from 
under  before  the  bottom  drops  out  of  it. ' '  And  stand 
from  under  he  did,  getting  out  of  the  business  shortly 
afterwards,  and  though  the  family  was  right  at  the 
top  of  the  ladder  at  the  time,  the  name  of  Watkins 
is  hardly  remembered  now  in  its  old  home  location 
in  connection  with  any  such  important  position. 

Regarding  the  three  stallions  imported  by  the  Co- 
lumbus firm  in  1867  T.  L.  Bigelow  gives  the  follow- 
ing descriptions : 

''Black  Eobert  54,  black,  weight  about  1,500 
pounds,  of  pure  Norman  blood,  wonderful  action  and 
endurance. 

"Duke  of  France  165,  bay,  weight  1,750  pounds, 
fair  success  in  stud  at  fee  of  $20.  Sold  to  go  to  Ga- 
lena, Delaware  Co.,  0.  Bay  Duke  (as  we  called  him) 
was  a  beautiful  Norman-French  horse,  fine  style  but 
not  possessing  the  action  of  the  pure  Norman  or 
diligence  breed  of  horses. 

"Napoleon  325,  dapple-gray,  weight  1,650  pounds, 
fair  success  in  stud  only.  Stood  mostly  at  Chillicothe 
and  in  Ross  Co.,  0.  This  stallion  was  awarded  first 
premium  at  the  World's  Fair  held  at  Rouen,  France, 
1866,  in  competition  with  some  500  stallions.  As  was 
the  custom,  the  owner  considered  him  sold  to  the 
Imperial  Stud  and  would  not  put  a  price  on  him  on 
that  account  for  export.  Messrs.  Brown  &  Bigelow, 
however,  through  the  influence  of  a  member  of  the 
court,  secured  a  personal  audience  with  the  Emperor, 


136  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

Napoleon  III,  obtaining  from  liim  an  order  for  the 
horse,  later  paying  an  enormous  price. '  ^ 

These  details  supplied  by  Mr.  Bigelow  in  connec- 
tion with  the  stallions  included  in  this  and  other  im- 
portations made  by  the  firm  are  of  great  value  as 
showing  the  weight  of  the  stallions  then  obtainable 
in  France  and  proving  the  existence  of  at  least  two 
well  differentiated  types  at  that  day.  The  name 
*' Norman '^  was  apparently  given  to  the  diligence 
or  quick-moving,  smaller  pattern  of  Pleasant  Valley 
Bill,  while  the  larger,  slower,  more  drafty  sort,  to 
which  Louis  Napoleon  had  belonged  seems  to  have 
been  referred  to  merely  as  ^^ French." 

Up  to  the  end  of  1867  twenty  stallions  and  eleven 
mares  had  been  imported  from  France,  practically 
all  of  them  having  been  purchased  at  or  near  the 
town  of  Rouen.  In  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained  the 
diligence  type  was  preferred  and  had  done  better 
with  the  eastern  mares  than  the  heavier  horses  im- 
ported. 

•  Louis  Napoleon  and  Rollin,  the  first  French  stal- 
lions brought  to  Illinois,  had  the  advantage  of  meet- 
ing larger  mares  than  those  available  farther  east, 
or  indeed  anywhere  else.  It  is  presumable  that  Duke 
of  France,  the  stallion  referred  to  by  Mr.  Bigelow 
as  of  ^^Norman-French"  blood,  was  one  of  the  heav- 
iest retained  in  Ohio  up  to  that  time  and  probably 
about  the  same  size  as  Rollin.  That  both  these 
horses  were  bay  and  hailed  from  the  same  locality 
suggests  a  racial  connection  between  them.  Their 
ruddy  coats  and  superior  scale  would  suggest  also 


Levi  Dillon     f 


\     JErlUs  Pi  lion.    \     \    Isaiahpillofu    \ 


FIRST  FRENCH  HORSES  IN  AMERICA  137 

possession  of  some  blood  distinct  from  the  diligence 
type.  Up  to  the  close  of  1867  only  three  imported 
stallions  had  been  brought  into  Illinois  and  none  had 
been  located  in  any  other  state  west  of  Ohio. 


CHAPTER  VI. 
THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870. 

More  stallions  and  mares  were  imported  into  tlie 
United  States  from  France  in  1868  than  during  all 
the  previous  seasons,  the  figures  being  31  stallions 
and  8  mares.  Seven  of  the  mares  were  brought  across 
the  sea  by  the  late  Gen.  W.  T.  Walters,  Baltimore, 
Md.,  and  the  remaining  one  by  Jeff  C.  Clark,  Nor- 
mandy, Mo. 

Importers  of  stallions  in  1868  included,  besides  the 
two  already  named,  the  Gallon  Importing  Co.,  Gallon, 
O.;  Wallace,  Watkins  &  Co.  and  the  Marion  County 
Importing  Co.,  Marion,  0.;  Brown,  Bigelow  &  Co., 
Columbus,  0.;  Dwight  Gay,  Columbus,  0.;  Fulling- 
ton,  Phellis  &  Co.,  Irsvin  Station,  0.;  A.  G.  Van 
Hoorebeke,  Monmouth,  111.,  and  W.  J.  Edwards,  Clif- 
ton, 111.  Territorial  expansion  was  the  order  of  the 
day  and  greater  size  seems  to  have  been  sought  in 
France  by  most  of  the  importers.  Practically  all  the 
stallions  were  bought  in  the  towns  of  Rouen,  Amiens, 
Elboeuf,  Boulogne,  and  Havre.  The  Paris  dealers' 
stables  were  also  resorted  to.  The  exact  origin  of 
the  imported  horses  of  this  period  will  never  be 
known,  and  this  statement  will  apply  with  equal 
truth  to  many  a  good  horse  brought  to  America  from 
France  in  subsequent  years.     It  is  clear  that  those 

138 


7t  y^  ^i-a^^iSi^^ 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  139 

who  brought  out  the  earlier  Ohio  stallions  were  not 
men  who  had  made  any  special  study  of  the  business. 
The  Perche,  as  such,  was  to  them  more  or  less  a  terra 
incognita.  They  knew  nothing  of  what  had  been 
going  on  in  that  district  for  fifty  years  preceding 
their  visits.  The  buyers  of  Louis  Napoleon  and 
other  horses  were  not  even  in  quest  of  horses.  There 
were  no  stud  books.  No  pedigrees  were  obtained, 
and  none  of  these  early  buyers  appears  to  have  made 
any  effort  to  seek  out  the  real  fountain  head  of  the 
type  that  was  destined  to  play  such  an  important 
part  in  the  development  of  draft  horse  breeding  in 
the  United  States.  In  good  time,  however,  this  was 
discovered  and  commonly  recognized. 

Of  the  Missouri  importation,  consisting  of  two 
stallions  and  one  mare,  no  information  can  now  be 
secured  further  than  that  conveyed  by  the  records. 
In  Illinois  the  case  is  far  different,  because  on  the 
importation  of  Success  and  French  Emperor  by  W. 
J.  Edwards  was  raised  by  the  late  Mark  Went  worth 
Dunham  the  most  magnificent  success  ever  achieved 
by  one  man  in  the  heavy  horse  business. 

A  Profitable  Business. — By  this  time  the  importa- 
tion and  sale  of  imported  stallions  had  settled  down 
to  the  level  and  dignity  of  an  established  trade 
and  prices  ranged  in  this  country  between  $2,000  and 
$3,500.  In  France  prices  remained  on  about  their 
old  scale.  Among  Dr.  Marcus  Brown's  papers  is  a 
memorandum  showing  that  the  five  stallions  he 
bought  in  1868  for  Brown,  Bigelow  &  Co.,  cost  laid 
down  in  Columbus,  0.,  an  average  of  $578.68.    One 


140  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

of  the  five  was  a  Belgian  which  proved  so  utterly  un- 
reliable in  the  stud  that  he  never  succeeded  in  get- 
ting a  mare  with  foal.  In  consequence  he  was  never 
recorded.  Another  member  of  this  importation, 
Black  Leopard  50,  had  considerable  Belgian  blood 
in  his  veins;  he  was  of  medium  stature  and  a  fine 
mover.  It  was  this  horse  that  killed  Mr.  Bigelow. 
With  the  expansion  of  the  business  westward  and 
the  development  of  the  fillies  by  earlier  imported 
stallions,  there  arose  an  insistent  demand  in  some 
quarters  for  more  weight.  Importers  found  it  also 
to  their  advantage  to  be  choice  in  the  matter  of  in- 
dividuality when  making  their  selections  abroad. 
Profits  were  very  satisfactory.  Sales  were  quite  gen- 
erally for  cash  and  guarantees  of  reasonable  sure- 
ness  as  foal-getters  had  not  yet  been  exacted  by  pur- 
chasers. Service  fees  had  reached  a  remunerative 
level  and  were  going  higher.  In  short  the  whole 
business  had  begun  to  take  on  that  air  of  prosperity 
in  which  it  was  swathed  a  decade  later. 

Activity  in  Ohio. — In  almost  all  of  the  importa- 
tions of  1868  one  or  more  stallions  of  outstanding 
merit  were  included.  For  instance,  in  the  Gallon 
company's  lot  of  half-a-dozen,  the  largest  importa- 
tion brought  over  that  year,  no  less  than  three — 
Napoleon  733,  Puelo  752,  and  the  oddly  named  Pluri- 
bustah  747 — gained  something  more  than  local  re- 
nown in  the  stud.  While  most  of  the  imported  stal- 
lions still  ranged  in  weight  between  1,600  and  1,700 
pounds  several  imported  that  year  were  much 
heavier. 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  141 

The  transactions  of  Brown  &  Bigelow  that  season 
will  serve  to  illustrate  the  nature  of  the  business  as 
carried  on  in  that  distant  day.  Importers  of  the 
present  time  will  be  interested  in  the  following  par- 
ticulars : 

Black  Leopard  50  was  the  dearest  horse  of  the  lot, 
costing  3,020  francs,  or  $604,  in  France.  He  was  con- 
sidered by  Mr.  Bigelow  the  best  horse  he  ever  saw 
and  after  making  many  very  profitable  seasons  at 
$20  the  mare  he  was  sold  at  the  age  of  sixteen  for 
$1,000.  Diligence  137  cost  $364,  was  sold  for  $2,500, 
and  stood  all  his  life  at  $20.  Coburg,  the  stallion  that 
covered  100  mares  and  never  got  one  of  them  with 
foal,  cost  $264  in  France  and  brought  $2,500.  Two- 
thirds  of  this  price  was  on  time  and  the  notes  were 
returned.  Dictator  134  cost  $620.  An  offer  of  $3,000 
was  refused  for  him.  He  made  ten  big  seasons  at 
$20  a  mare.  Vigorous  486  was  acquired  for  $204  and 
found  a  buyer  at  $2,200.  There  seems  to  have  been 
no  direct  connection  between  size  and  price,  as  the 
two  highest  priced  stallions  in  this  lot.  Dictator  and 
Black  Leopard,  were  in  the  order  written  the  largest 
and  the  smallest  in  it.  The  average  price  paid  for 
the  ^Ye  stallions  abroad  was  $413,  but  as  gold  was 
at  a  premium  they  actually  cost  the  average  previ- 
ously named. 

From  all  accounts  the  three  lighter  stallions  in 
this  lot,  Black  Leojjard,  Diligence  and  Vigorous,  all 
weighing  from  1,600  to  1,650  pounds,  did  quite  as 
good  business  in  the  stud  as  the  larger  Dictator, 
which  scaled  1,900  pounds.    The  heavier  sorts  were 


142  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

yet  very  much  in  the  minority,  the  proportion  of 
three  light  to  one  heavy  in  this  importation  probably 
holding  good  for  all  the  others.  The  figures  for  the 
Brown  &  Bigelow  lot  tell  the  story  of  the  business 
at  that  time. 

In  the  importation  brought  over  by  the  Watkins 
federation  of  Marion,  0.,  was  the  never-to-be-forgot- 
ten Napoleon  2d  337,  purchased  that  fall  shortly 
after  landing  by  the  firm  of  Llewellyn  &  Prichard, 
Ottawa,  111.,  which  consisted  of  W.  E.  Prichard,  still 
of  that  place,  and  his  brother-in-law.  Napoleon  2d 
was  a  very  shapely  gray  horse  of  superb  quality.  He 
sprang  into  instant  popularity  when  brought  to  Illi- 
nois. He  was  later  commonly  known  as  ' '  Old  Poley ' ' 
and  that  sobriquet  soon  became  familiar  throughout 
La  Salle  and  adjoining  counties.  Mares  were  brought, 
so  great  was  his  renown,  over  40  miles  to  his  court. 
Later  his  fame  extended  all  over  the  state  and  his 
sudden  death  in  1877  deprived  the  budding  heavy 
horse  industry  of  the  Prairie  commonwealth  of  its 
best  foal-getter.     He  cost  $3,300. 

Of  the  Fullington-Phellis  lot  no  less  than  three  dis- 
tinguished themselves  more  or  less  as  sires  in  cen- 
tral Ohio.  These  were  Duke  of  Normandy  168, 
Prince  Albert  385,  otherwise  known  as  "Jim,"  and 
Prince  Imperial  388,  better  remembered  locally  as 
' '  Old  Charley. ' '  This  firm  was  composed  of  Charles 
Pullington,  back  in  1851  part  owner  of  Louis  Napo- 
leon, and  Charles  Phellis,  one  of  the  best  known 
stockmen  and  one  of  the  most  advanced  of  Ohio 
agriculturists  of  his  day. 


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PERC!HE(RON   STATJJuN   H£RCLLES— IMPORTED   IN   186S   BY  W.    T.    WALTERS. 


PERCHERON    STAT  J  JON    MOROCK— IMPORTED    IN    1S68    BY    W.    T.    WAETER-S. 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  143 

The  Walters  Percherons.— To  Gen.  W.  T.  Walters, 
Baltimore,  Md.,  clearly  belongs  the  credit  of  having 
been  the  leading  importer  and  breeder  of  the  Atlan- 
tic Coast  country  of  the  early  day. 

In  1868  he  brought  across  the  ocean  four  stallions 
and  seven  mares,  establishing  them  on  his  estate  just 
outside  Baltimore.  It  may  be  said  fairly  that  the 
gray  diligence  horse  of  France  became  an  obsession 
with  him.  He  was  a  man  of  wealth,  position  and 
large  affairs.  He  resided  in  France  for  a  consider- 
able period  and  during  his  sojourn  in  that  country 
became  deeply  impressed  with  the  adaptability  of 
the  Percheron  to  American  conditions.  He  formed 
a  connection  with  one  of  the  officials  of  the  French 
government  stud  who  assisted  him  in  making  his 
selections.  He  contended  that  the  diligence  type  was 
suitable  in  every  way  for  use  before  a  gentleman's 
carriage.  He  sought  generally  the  lighter  weights, 
and  seated  in  his  platform  spring  wagon  or  double 
carriage  drawn  by  a  pair  of  what  he  always  called 
Percheron  mares,  driven  by  a  colored  coachman,  he 
was  a  familiar  figure  on  the  Baltimore  drives. 

Gen.  Walters  never  overlooked  an  opportunity  to 
promote  public  interest  in  his  Percherons,  and  hav- 
ing ample  means  at  his  command  he  was  in  a  position 
to  go  as  far  as  he  liked.  He  caused  a  translation  of 
Du  Hays '  history  of  the  Percheron  horse  to  be  made 
and  published  at  his  own  personal  expense.  He  dis- 
tributed among  his  friends  a  splendid  quarto  volume 
profusely  illustrated  with  plates  of  stallions  and 
mares  made  from  photographs  by  Schreiber  of  Phila- 


144  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

delpliia,  then  and  for  long  years  afterwards  the  fore- 
most live  stock  camera  artist  of  America.  The  repro- 
ductions herewith  of  plates  from  Gen.  Walters'  pri- 
vately circulated  book  disclose  at  a  glance  the  type 
of  horse  he  favored. 

The  late  Dr.  Ezra  Stetson,  Neponset,  111.,  procured 
some  of  the  Walters  mares,  and  their  descendants 
proved  among  the  most  useful  horses  of  the  early 
days  of  Percheron  breeding  in  the  middle  west. 

Old  Success  Imported. — W.  J.  Edwards,  Clifton, 
111.,  was  a  patentee  and  manufacturer  of  improved 
road-construction  machinery,  a  traveler,  a  gentle- 
man, and  the  possessor  of  untiring  energy.  In  1868 
he  journeyed  to  Europe  and  when  he  returned  to 
Clifton  brought  with  him  three  imported  stallions 
— a  bay  which  was  the  largest  of  the  trio,  French 
Emperor  203,  and  the  gray  Success  452.  Just  where 
he  acquired  the  bay  and  what  became  of  that  big 
horse  diligent  research  has  failed  to  reveal.  These 
three  stallions  made  seasons  in  Clifton  in  1868,  and 
that  fall  the  two  grays  were  purchased  by  the 
Fletcher  Co.,  Wayne,  111.,  which  took  its  title  from 
its  first  president,  the  late  Mark  Wentworth  Fletcher, 
father  of  James  Moore  Fletcher,  who  some  years 
later  in  connection  with  Oaklawn,  and  afterwards 
on  his  own  account,  became  a  leader  in  Percheron 
circles.  Success  attained  great  celebrity,  as  will  be 
noted  further  on. 

M.  W.  Dunham  Enters  the  Business. — In  this 
Fletcher  company,  as  one  of  its  members,  was  the 
late  Mark  W.  Dunham,  Wayne,  111.,  one  of  the  most 


PEK.CHE»ON    STALLION    SULTAN— IJIPORTEID    IN    1S81    BY    W.     T.     WALTERS. 


PERCIHERON   AIARE    ALENB— IMPORTED    IX    1866   BY    W.    T.    WALTERS. 


THE  IMPORTING  EECOED  TO  1870  145 

resourceful  and  far-sighted  men  ever  identified  with 
animal  breeding  in  North  America.  Firm  in  the 
conviction  that  a  great  future  lay  before  the  French 
horses  in  the  United  States,  Mr.  Dunham  bought 
out  his  colleagues  in  this  enterprise  and  there  and 
then  founded  the  great  importing  and  breeding 
enterprise  which  has  made  the  names  of  Dunham 
and  Oaklawn  household  words  among  the  draft  horse 
breeders  of  two  continents.  His  subsequent  stu- 
pendous success  will  necessarily  come  in  for  frequent 
reference  as  our  story  progresses. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte. — While  no  very  direct  ac- 
count can  be  given  of  the  events  which  followed 
the  introduction  by  Jeff  C.  Clark  of  French  blood 
into  Missouri,  further  than  as  contained  in  the  rec- 
ords, the  facts  seem  to  be  clear  enough.  Eugenia 
802,  the  gray  mare  imported  by  Mr.  Clark  that 
year  as  a  four-year-old,  proved  prolific,  though  un- 
reliable as  to  the  color  of  her  progeny.  Mr.  Clark 
seems  to  have  held  on  to  his  imported  horses  for 
some  seven  years,  when  he  disposed  of  Eugenia  to 
Henry  V.  P.  Block,  Aberdeen,  Mo.,  and  the  stallion 
Napoleon  Bonaparte  334  to  the  Pike  Co.,  Mo.,  Horse 
Association,  Louisiana,  Mo.  Of  this  gray  horse  it 
is  of  record  that  while  weighing  close  to  1,600 
pounds  he  was  possessed  of  coach  horse  conforma- 
tion, style  and  beauty,  quality  and  action.  More- 
over he  was  quite  fast  at  the  trot.  There  is  a  tradi- 
tion, of  sufficient  moment  at  the  time  to  induce  the 
discriminating  compiler  to  record  it  in  Volume  I  of 
the  Percheron  Stud  Book,  that  Napoleon  Bonaparte 


146  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

trotted  a  mile  over  the  old  St.  Louis  fair  grounds 
track  in  3.42,  pulling  a  four-wheeled  coupe  contain- 
ing four  men.  Bismarck,  the  stable  companion  of 
this  fast  traveler,  in  1874  became  the  property  of 
Dr.  Stetson  of  Neponset,  111.,  but  apparently  he  did 
not  meet  his  views,  as  in  the  year  following  he 
passed  to  the  same  company  that  owned  Napoleon 
Bonaparte. 

This  covers  quite  closely  the  main  facts  which 
transpired  in  1868,  the  most  memorable  year  since 
the  inception  of  the  importing  business.  Almost  as 
many  mares  were  imported  as  had  thitherto  crossed 
the  ocean — 8  as  compared  with  11  head — and  the 
number  of  imported  stallions  had  been  increased  150 
per  cent,  the  figures  from  1839  to  1867  inclusive  be- 
ing 20  as  compared  with  31  in  1868.  Imported 
horses  had  penetrated  as  far  west  as  Missouri  and 
the  second  and  third  direct  importations  had  been 
made  into  Illinois.  By  far  the  most  important  fea- 
ture of  the  year  was  the  entrance  of  Mark  W.  Dun- 
ham into  the  ranks  following  the  banner  of  the 
French  horse.  Unpretentious  and  inauspicious 
though  that  beginning  may  have  been  it  marked 
the  opening  of  the  era  during  which  the  breed  was 
destined  to  assume  the  dominance  of  the  American 
draft  horse  breeding  industry,  with  M.  W.  Dun- 
ham as  its  leading  exponent. 

A  Lull  in  1869. — In  the  season  following  the  boom 
of  1868  importations  were  greatly  reduced,  general 
commercial  dullness  and  financial  stringency  being 
given  as  the  causes.    In  1869,  too,  we  note  the  giving 


^'  .^'.-^K 


-•yi.  ■ 


:f^S^IN*?^^8'^*^f^ 


^^ii^-^s.  .^^^'^^  ^  - 


^H- 


PERCHEROX    STALilOXS    TRIBUXB    AXD    •SAI>VAioK— IMPORTED    BY    W.     T. 

WALTERS. 


PERCHERON   MARE  KATE>— IMPORTED   IN   18S6   BY   W.    T.    WALTERS. 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  147 

way  of  the  Ohio  contingent  as  the  leader  in  the  im- 
porting business,  and  the  promise  of  the  rise  of 
Illinois  to  the  proud  position  of  prominence  it  was 
soon  to  assume  and  which  it  has  held  ever  since. 

Not  one  of  the  previously  prominent  Ohio  firms 
is  named  as  having  brought  horses  across  the  ocean 
in  1869,  the  only  importer  of  record  in  that  state 
for  that  season  being  F.  D.  Dunham  of  Cincinnati, 
whose  lot  consisted  of  two  stallions  which  do  not 
seem  to  have  made  any  impression  on  the  equine 
atfairs  of  the  state.  Hume  &  Short  of  Brighton 
and  A.  G.  Van  Hoorebeke  of  Monmouth  are  the  Illi- 
nois operators  listed  in  the  records.  With  three 
residents  of  Pennsylvania  they  comprise  the  roster 
of  those  activel}^  engaged.  The  Pennsylvanians 
were  E.  W.  Shippen,  Meadville,  who  brought  out 
three  stallions,  Edward  Schreiber,  Allentown,  who 
brought  fiYe  stallions  and  one  mare,  and  John  S. 
Parker,  West  Chester,  who  brought  two  stallions. 
The  total  importations  for  the  entire  year  amount- 
ed to  fifteen  stallions  and  one  mare.  No  mark  worthy 
of  prominent  mention  seems  to  have  been  left  by 
any  of  these  animals.  Only  one  foal  is  recorded  as 
having  been  produced  by  the  mare  imported  that 
season,  Eugenia  803.  It  was  a  colt,  color  not  given, 
sired  by  Prince  Imperial  748  (imported  the  same 
year)  and  foaled  in  1876. 

It  was  in  this  year  of  1869  that  the  state  of  Iowa 
received  its  first  imported  stallion.  In  the  fall  of 
1868  Peter  Bland,  one  of  the  earliest  converts  to  the 
draft  horse  faith  and  a  resident  of  the  Darby  Plains 


148  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

country  of  Ohio,  bought  from  Fullington,  Phellis 
&  Co.  the  five-year-old  gray  Duke  of  Normandy  168, 
locally  known  as  John  Sheridan.  One  year  later 
Mr.  Bland  sold  this  stallion,  which  was  of  the  dili- 
gence type  and  weighed  not  more  than  1,600  pounds 
at  full  maturity,  to  A.  W.  Cook,  Charles  City,  la., 
who  kept  him  until  1874  and  then  sold  him  to  Jacob 
Erb  &  Co.  of  Ames.  Pride  of  Perche  382,  imported 
by  the  Watkins  federation  of  Ohio,  reached  the 
Iowa  Agricultural  College  this  same  year.  John 
Sheridan  was  not  long  destined  for  his  work  in  Story 
county,  his  death  following  in  August  of  the  same 
season  in  which  he  was  taken  there. 

Across  the  Continent. — The  year  1870  saw  the 
hub  of  the  country's  draft  horse  importing  and 
breeding  industry  pass  westward  to  Illinois,  where 
it  has  ever  since  remained.  Kansas  received  its  first 
direct  importation  from  France  in  the  gray  stallion 
Napoleon  736,  imported  by  M.  J.  Parrott,  Leaven- 
worth, but  fated  not  long  to  be  retained  in  the  Sun- 
flower state.  In  1872  Napoleon  was  sold  to  W.  C. 
Meyer,  the  pioneer  breeder  of  the  Pacific  slope,  who 
in  that  year  took  his  second  lot  over  the  Eocky 
Mountains.  Mr.  Meyer's  first  purchase,  made  in 
this  year  of  1870,  included  the  stallion  White  Prince 
496,  Doll  541  (by  the  Baker  Horse  21  out  of  old  Doll 
540,  imported  in  1857)  and  some  grade  mares  with 
three  crosses  of  imported  blood  in  their  veins.  From 
these  grade  mares  he  was  able  in  1878  under  the 
new  top-cross  rule  to  register  the  fillies  Jane  812  and 
Josie  815,  the  former  by  Pride  of  Perche  380  and 


-^■-aer^"  • 


PEKCHERON    IVL4RES    JAQUEUXE,     TOPSY,    BELLE    AND    ALENE— lilPORTED    IN 

186S  BY  W.   T.  WALTERS. 


PERCHERON     ST.\LL>IONS     SULTAN     ANT>     VICTOR— lilPORTED     ANT)     OWNED 

BY   W.    T.    WALTERS. 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  149 

the  latter  by  Gen.  Fleury  846,  tlieir  pedigrees  other- 
wise being  the  same — dam  Jennie  by  Prince  Imperial 
388  (Old  Charley),  grandam  by  Normandy  351 
(Pleasant  Valley  Bill),  third  dam  by  Nonesuch  345 
(Old  Bob),  fourth  dam  by  Louis  Napoleon  281. 

White  Prince  496  was  the  first  imported  horse  ever 
taken  west  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  it  will  be 
observed  that  even  as  early  as  1878  we  had  Ameri- 
can-bred horses  of  high  breeding  graded  up  from 
the  native  stock.  White  Prince  was  a  fine  individual 
and  an  extraordinarily  successful  sire,  never  a  big 
one,  weighing  around  1,600  pounds,  and  remembered 
as  a  typical  specimen  of  the  true  diligence  breed  in 
its  highest  estate.  His  get  followed  his  own  pattern 
closely  as  to  both  type  and  color.  Indeed  he  was 
regarded  as  exactly  the  horse  that  should  have  been 
chosen  to  make  a  start  in  a  region  where  the  im- 
provement of  the  native  stock  had  not  previously 
been  attempted.  Unfortunately  he  was  poisoned  in 
1878,  foul  play  in  that  manner  removing  perhaps 
the  most  impressive  getter  ever  used  on  the  common 
run  of  mares  in  the  early  days  in  that  country. 

Good  Buying  for  Illinois. — Fullington,  Thompson 
&  Co.,  Irwin  Station,  and  the  Marion  company  still 
held  the  fort  in  Ohio,  each  firm  importing  three 
stallions  in  1870.  All  the  other  importers  of  that 
year,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Parrott,  already 
mentioned  as  hailing  from  Kansas,  were  residents 
of  Illinois.  They  were:  Hume  &  Short,  Brighton; 
Euss,  McCourtey  &  Slattery,  Onarga;  Westfall, 
Moore  &  Eexroat,  Macomb;  A.  G.  Van  Hoorebeke, 


150  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Monmouth;  Jas.  A.  Perry,  Wilmington,  and  last  but 
not  least,  E.  Dillon  &  Co.,  Normal,  wliicli  had  been 
identified  with  the  business  since  the  purchase  of 
Louis  Napoleon  in  1858.  Illinois'  delegation  consist- 
ed of  17  out  of  the  24  stallions  imported  that  season. 
Josephine  814,  brought  across  by  Mr.  Parrott,  is  the 
only  mare  listed  for  1870.  She  was  disposed  of  the 
following  spring  to  Mr.  Meyer,  but  died  before  she 
could  be  shipped. 

Duke  de  Chartres  Brings  $4,000. — Among  the  stal- 
lions imported  in  1870  were  several  celebrities.  In 
the  quartette  brought  by  James  A.  Perry,  Wilming- 
ton, 111.,  was  Duke  de  Chartres  150,  a  four-year-old 
gray  conceded  to  have  been  the  handsomest  imported 
stallion  of  his  day,  and  extraordinarily  successful  in 
the  showring  at  the  Illinois  State  and  other  fairs. 
He  earned  the  further  distinction  of  being  the  first 
imported  horse  to  be  taken  to  California,  William 
Hill  &  Co.,  Petaluma,  being  the  buyers  at  a  price 
reported  to  have  been  $4,000,  or  the  highest  paid  up 
to  that  date.  Diligent  inquiry  has  failed  to  develop 
information  touching  Duke  de  Chartres '  career  after 
reaching  the  Golden  State.  Vidal  784,  another  stal- 
lion in  the  same  importation,  was  later  sold  by  Mr. 
Perry  to  the  Degens  of  Ottawa,  his  acquisition  mark- 
ing the  entrance  of  that  Illinois  family  into  the 
business  in  which  they  were  prominent  for  some 
years. 

Pride  of  Perche  382,  a  four-year-old  gray  imported 
by  the  Marion  company  in  Ohio,  was  probably  the 
second  imported  stallion  taken  into  Iowa,  having 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO   1870  151 

been  purchased  by  A.  G.  Howland,  Otisville,  the 
same  year  he  was  imported.  He  made  several 
seasons  at  the  Iowa  Agricultural  College,  Ames,  but 
like  John  Sheridan  died  in  1877.  Most  of  the  stal- 
lions imported  by  Euss,  McCourtey  &  Slattery, 
Onarga,  and  Westfall,  Moore  &  Eexroat,  Macomb, 
seem  to  have  done  yeoman  service  in  the  improve- 
ment of  the  native  Illinois  stocks,  proving  in  the 
main  long-lived,  prolific,  and  impressive.  One  of 
the  stallions  imported  by  Westfall,  Moore  &  Eex- 
roat was  sold  to  A.  V.  Brookings,  Macomb,  111., 
marking  the  beginning  of  a  connection  that  persisted 
prominently  in  that  portion  of  the  state  for  a  great 
many  years. 

First  of  the  Blood  in  Wisconsin. — Whether  to 
Simon  Eublee  or  to  H.  B.  Sherman,  both  now  mem- 
bers of  the  great  silent  majority,  belongs  the  credit 
of  having  taken  the  first  imported  stallion  into  Wis- 
consin the  records  are  not  altogether  clear.  It  is  the 
tradition  that  Mr.  Shennan  bought  a  stallion  in  Ohio 
of  1870  importation,  but  finding  him  wanting  in  some 
essential  particular  later  obtained  another  in  ex- 
change for  him — Pride  of  Perche  380.  But  it  is  cer- 
tain that  Mr.  Eublee  bought  Mahomet  291,  imported 
in  1870,  from  the  Dillons.  He  was  one  of  their  first 
lot  of  four  head.  In  just  which  year  the  first  im- 
ported horse  was  taken  into  the  Badger  state  the 
records  do  not  make  clear,  but  the  honor  of  blazing 
the  trail  in  that  commonwealth  belongs  to  one  or 
the  other  of  these  two  men. 

Dillons'  Big  St.  Laurent. — With  the  importation 


152  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

of  four  head,  whicli  marked  the  beginning  of  the 
Dillons'  importing  career,  there  came  certainly  the 
weightiest  stallion  that  up  to  that  time  had  entered 
this  country,  and  quite  likely  as  big  as  any  that  has 
followed  him.  This  was  St.  Laurent  435,  a  gray 
foaled  in  1866,  and  said  to  have  weighed  near  2,400 
pounds.  He  was  loosely  put  together,  and  a  some- 
what uncertain  getter,  but  there  is  no  question  as  to 
his  mastodonic  dimensions. 

Recapitulation. — Beginning  with  the  Harris  im- 
portation of  1839  and  closing  the  first  era  of  the  im- 
porting business  with  the  end  of  1870,  we  find  a 
total  of  90  stallions  and  21  mares  definitely  recorded 
as  having  been  brought  to  these  shores  from  France. 
It  is  generally  believed  that  a  few  animals  besides 
those  mentioned  here  were  actually  imported  within 
the  period  described,  but  the  data  concerning  them 
and  the  points  of  their  origin  were  too  indefinite  for 
the  compiler  of  the  stud  book  some  forty  and  more 
years  ago  to  recognize  their  claims.  At  the  best 
they  could  be  but  few  in  number.  Some  of  the  early 
imported  stallions  of  the  diligence  type  bred  re- 
markably true  to  form,  and  there  is  little  room  to 
doubt  that  on  removal  far  from  the  point  of  produc- 
tion some  of  their  sons  with  age,  whitening  coat, 
and  growing  success  in  the  stud  gradually  assumed 
the  dignity,  by  local  reputation,  of  "imported 
stock.''  If  a  few  genuinely  imported  stallions  were 
overlooked  it  is  no  more  than  must  have  been  ex- 
pected in  the  circumstances,  but  without  doubt  a 
place  was  found  for  every  animal  whose  history 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  153 

could  be  traced  without  break  or  flaw.  Naturally, 
too,  there  was  considerable  duplication  of  names,  but 
that  also  was  unavoidable.  It  is  possible  when  the 
affairs  of  a  stud  book  organization  are  in  running 
order  to  prevent  two  animals  being  registered  by 
the  same  name,  but  that  is  impossible  in  gathering 
together  materials  for  a  retrospective  volume. 
Names  under  which  stallions  have  been  known  for 
many  years  can  not  be  changed  for  the  purposes  of 
making  a  more  intelligible  record.  In  reading  the 
history  of  the  earliest  importations  it  is  necessary, 
then,  to  sense  properly  the  number  following  the 
name  when  tracing  the  career  of  any  given  individ- 
ual. Of  Napoleons,  Dukes  of  Normandy,  Prides  of 
Perche,  and  Princes  of  various  realms  there  were 
many  and  unless  the  stud  book  number  is  carefully 
noted  in  connection  with  the  name  confusion  must 
ensue. 

Of  the  90  stallions  imported  between  1839  and 
1870,  Ohio  had  42,  Illinois  24,  Pennsylvania  10, 
Maryland  5,  Massachusetts,  Virginia,  Missouri  and 
New  Jersey  2  each,  and  Kansas  1.  Owing  to  the 
activity  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Walters,  Mar^dand  easily 
leads  among  the  mares  with  a  total  of  10  out  of  21, 
followed  by  Massachusetts  with  3,  Virginia  and 
New  Jersey  with  2  each,  and  Pennsylvania,  Kansas, 
Missouri  and  Ohio  with  1  each. 

Starting  once  more  with  the  landing  of  the  Harris 
stallions  and  mares  in  New  Jersey,  we  have  the 
spread  westward  in  chronological  order  to  Maryland, 
Pennsylvania  and  Ohio,  Illinois,  Kentucky,  Missouri, 


154  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Kansas,  Iowa  and  Oregon.  Michigan  received  its 
first  blood  also  in  1870,  when  Hon.  Z.  T.  Chandler, 
Lansing,  bought  Mark  Anthony  296  from  Gen.  W.  T. 
Walters,  Baltimore.  Oddly  enough,  although  every 
stallion  taken  into  Illinois  and  further  west  neces- 
sarily had  to  pass  through  Indiana  there  is  no  men- 
tion made  of  the  location  of  any  imported  stallion 
in  that  state  within  the  period  of  32  years  just  re- 
viewed. Mahomet  292,  a  five-year-old  gray  stallion 
imported  in  1868  by  the  Watkins  confederacy  in 
Ohio,  is  recorded  as  having  made  several  seasons  in 
Illinois  and  Indiana,  but  that  is  as  close  as  we  can 
come  to  discovering  any  early  awakening  in  Indiana 
to  a  sense  of  the  merits  of  these  imported  horses. 

By  the  close  of  1870  draft  horse  breeding  had 
been  established  in  Illinois  as  a  commercial  industry 
on  a  sure  and  solid  basis,  though  as  yet  no  purebred 
mares  had  been  owned  within  the  state.  Up  to  this 
time  a  large  percentage  of  the  male  progeny  of  the 
imported  stallions,  especially  if  gray  in  color  and 
descended  from  the  Samson  mares,  were  kept  entire 
and  used  in  the  stud,  some  of  these  grades  being 
high-class  individuals  and  often  really  not  to  be  dis- 
tinguished from  the  imported  article.  Weights  as 
high  as  1,800  and  even  1,900  pounds  had  been 
achieved  in  this  line  of  breeding  and  prices  up  to 
and  beyond  the  $l,000-line  had  been  paid  for  the  best 
specimens.  Four  hundred  and  $500,  and  even  $600, 
$700,  and  $800  were  prices  constantly  quoted  for 
young  gray  horses  possessing  the  characteristic 
**Frenchy''  form,  even  though  only  half-bred.  Stal- 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  155 

lion  fees  were  liberal,  reaching  as  high  as  $25,  $35, 
and  even  to  $40  and  $50  in  the  top  register.  No 
line  of  live  stock  endeavor  was  so  popular  and  at 
the  fairs  big  and  little  the  owners  of  French  horses 
vied  strenuously  with  one  another  in  making  dis- 
plays of  the  colts  and  fillies  begotten  by  their  stal- 
lions.   Of  course  these  young  things  were  all  grades. 

In  New  Jersey  all  trace  of  the  early  importations 
was  gradually  swept  away,  the  mark  left  by  Gray 
Billy,  stallmate  of  Pleasant  Valley  Bill  on  the  jour- 
ney across  the  ocean,  being  perhaps  the  hardest  to 
efface,  owing  no  doubt  to  the  superior  purity  of  his 
blood  and  his  prepotence  as  a  sire.  Despite  the  so- 
cial and  personal  prominence  of  Gen.  W.  T.  Walters 
and  the  care  and  money  he  lavished  on  his  Per- 
cheron  breeding  venture,  little  beneiit  accrued  to  the 
state  of  Maryland.  Indeed,  save  that  in  some  locali- 
ties the  weight  of  the  native  farm  stock  was  measur- 
ably increased,  it  is  questionable  if  the  equine  inter- 
ests of  the  commonwealth  received  any  lasting  bene- 
fit. Much  the  same  is  true,  on  the  best  authority, 
of  the  earliest  importations  into  Virginia,  and  all 
vestiges  of  the  Kentucky  importations  of  1859  have 
vanished  completely. 

In  Pennsylvania  no  doubt  the  war  of  1861-5  swal- 
lowed up  most  of  the  grades  old  enough  to  go  to  the 
front,  the  state  at  that  day  being  famed  as  the 
breeding  ground  where  the  best  big  horses  in  the 
Union  were  produced.  Indubitably  the  heavy  de- 
mands made  on  the  newly  improved  equine  pos- 
sessions of  Pennsylvania  for  military  purposes  gave 


156  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

t 

the  work  of  amelioration  so  grievous  a  setback  that 
before  the  machinery  of  improvement  had  again  been 
set  in  motion  the  tide  of  agricultural  advancement 
and  settlement  was  flowing  westward  in  such  over- 
mastering volume  and  strength  that  the  ground  lost 
could  never  be  quite  regained.  Nevertheless  Penn- 
sylvania remained  for  years  one  of  the  dominant 
factors  in  the  American  heavy  horse  breeding  in- 
dustry. 

To  a  lesser  extent  the  same  is  true  of  Ohio.  In 
the  Buckeye  state  perhaps  the  farmers'  yards  were 
not  raked  quite  so  clean  as  in  Pennsylvania,  and 
though  the  prices  offered  by  the  agents  of  the  War 
Department  tempted  many  breeders  to  sell  their 
grade  mares  for  army  uses  a  larger  percentage  re- 
mained after  the  close  of  hostilities  with  Avliich  to 
begin  anew  the  making  of  the  native-bred  drafter. 
Old  Doll  540,  imported  in  1857  by  the  Darby  Plains 
Co.,  proved  a  tower  of  strength  to  the  budding  pure- 
bred industry,  not  only  in  her  own  career  but  also 
in  the  prolificacy  of  her  several  daughters.  They 
gave  the  Ohio  fanciers  a  start  in  the  breeding  of 
purebred  stock  and  the  constant  supply  of  unrelated 
imported  stallions  from  1851  onward  gave  them  the 
opportunity  to  put  successive  crosses  upon  the  native 
foundation  until  registration  under  the  top-cross  rule 
of  1878  had  been  achieved.  We  find  no  evidence 
that  this  new  rule  was  taken  advantage  of  in  that 
day  by  the  breeders  in  Maryland  or  Virginia. 

Just  how  Indiana  escaped  from  being  infected  with 
the  desire  to  improve  its  work  horses  by  the  use  of 


THE  IMPORTING  RECORD  TO  1870  157 

the  imported  blood  will  never  be  explained,  but  that 
not  a  single  imported  stallion  had  up  to  1870  ever 
been  taken  for  service  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
state  is  proved  beyond  a  doubt  by  the  records.  How 
such  a  priceless  boon  came  to  be  overlooked  entirely 
in  the  main  line  of  western  travel  must  remain  an 
unsolved  mystery. 

Illinois  seems  to  have  been  shaped  by  destiny  to 
be  the  center  of  the  American  draft  horse  breeding 
industry.  As  already  stated,  the  existence  of  the 
big  mares  carrying  the  blood  of  Samson  contributed 
to  the  early  success  on  the  broad  prairies  of  Taze- 
well and  adjacent  counties,  and  there  is  a  tradition 
that  even  as  early  as  1835  grades  of  another  draft 
breed  had  been  used  to  better  the  work  stock  of  that 
region.  Moreover,  Illinois  with  its  deep  rich  soil  and 
its  wonderful  grazing  was  from  the  very  first  an 
ideal  horse-breeding  ground. 

As  early  as  1820  or  thereabouts  the  Dillons,  Hodg- 
sons,  and  other  well  known  old  Illinois  families  had 
achieved  fame  as  horse  breeders  in  the  localities  back 
east  from  which  they  originally  hailed.  About  that 
year  several  of  these  families  sent  scouts  west  with 
instructions  to  look  up  a  new  location,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  Dillons  and  the  Hodgsons  being 
charged  specifically  to  locate  lands  where  horse 
breeding  could  be  made  a  specialty.  They  came  on 
horseback  and  the  practical  judgment  of  these  hardy 
pioneers  is  well  demonstrated  by  their  original 
choices  of  location  along  the  Illinois  River  in  Taze- 
well  and  La   Salle  counties.     They  brought  good 


158  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

horses  of  the  Dragon  and  Conestoga  stocks  with 
them,  and  the  portion  of  the  state  where  they  settled 
has  ever  since  been  within  the  best  breeding  ground 
for  draft  horses  in  the  west. 

It  was  into  Tazewell  county  that  tradition  alleges 
the  very  first  stallions  of  draft  blood  brought  to  Illi- 
nois were  taken  about  1835.  It  was  into  that  same 
county  that  Samson  was  imported  in  1843,  and  it 
was  there  again  that  Louis  Napoleon  made  the  ''hit" 
that  paved  the  way  for  all  that  has  since  transpired 
in  this  great  branch  of  American  animal  husbandry. 


CHAPTER  VII. 
MID-WEST  PIONEERS. 

The  production  of  French  horses  in  America  from 
imported  ancestry  on  both  sides  was  so  limited  prior 
to  1871  as  to  be  of  little  consequence.  As  a  matter 
of  fact  only  23  animals  since  recorded  in  the  Ameri- 
can Stud  Book  were  foaled  during  the  years  from 
1871  to  1874.  More  rapid  headway  was  made  after 
1875,  however,  as  a  considerable  number  of  mares 
had  meantime  been  imported.  Summarizing  the 
situation,  we  find  that  874  stallions  and  152  mares 
were  imported  between  1871  and  1880,  and  that  104 
stallions  and  115  mares  were  bred  in  America  during 
that  same  time. 

Restricted  as  home-breeding  may  seem  to  have 
been,  a  solid  foundation  had  nevertheless  been  laid. 
The  value  of  the  French  horses  in  improving  the 
common  stock  of  the  country,  already  demonstrated 
by  Louis  Napoleon,  French  Emperor,  Success,  Pleas- 
ant Valley  Bill,  and  numerous  others,  had  been  more 
than  sustained  by  the  importation  and  use  of  Apollo 
14,  Vidocq  483  (732),  St.  Laurent  435,  Nogent  738 
(729),  Dieppe  135,  Malbranche  293,  and  numerous 
other  sires  of  more  than  average  merit.  Actual 
breeding  had  begun  in  fifteen  states.  Last  but  not 
least,  a  number  of  firms  had  passed  through  the 

159 


160  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

pioneer  stages  of  importing  and  breeding  and  were 
leading  the  way  to  rapid  improvement  in  our  draft 
horse  stock. 

Leaders  of  the  Period. — Mark  W.  Dunham,  E.  Dil- 
lon &  Co.,  James  A.  Perry,  Daniel  Dunham,  A.  W. 
Cook,  Virgin  &  Brown,  Degen  Bros.,  B.  H.  Campbell, 
James  H.  Sanders,  R.  B.  Chisholm,  and  the  Onarga 
Importing  Company  were  leading  figures  in  the.  trade 
during  the  period  of  which  we  speak.  All  but  Cook 
and  Sanders  were  located  in  Illinois.  They  were 
carrying  the  colors  to  the  front  in  Iowa.  There 
were,  however,  seventy-seven  other  men  who  are 
credited  with  importations  during  this  time,  and 
some  excellent  horses  were  brought  over  by  some  of 
the  minor  operators.  In  some  cases  importations 
were  made  by  men  who  did  not  go  abroad,  but  who 
bought  their  horses  through  accredited  agents  in 
France. 

The  leading  breeders  of  the  early  '70  ^s,  as  shown 
by  entries  subsequently  made  in  the  American  Stud 
Book,  in  order  of  importance  were  M.  W.  Dunham 
and  E.  Dillon  &  Co.,  both  of  Illinois;  S.  W.  Ficklin 
of  Virginia;  Thomas  Jones  &  Son  and  C.  M.  Jones, 
of  Ohio;  W.  T.  Walters  of  Maryland;  W.  H.  Winter 
and  Daniel  Dunham  of  Illinois;  W.  C.  Myer  of  Ore- 
gon; George  W.  Stubblefield  &  Co.,  and  Ed.  Hodgson 
of  Illinois.  Thirty-two  other  breeders  produced 
from  one  to  four  animals  each  during  the  years  men- 
tioned, and  their  product  was  distributed  over  the 
states  named  and  ten  others. 

Oaklawn  in  Front. — Mark  W.  Dunham  was  not 


mid-wt:st  pioneers  161 

only  the  principal  importer,  but  easily  the  leading 
breeder  of  his  time,  both  in  point  of  numbers  and  in 
the  excellence  of  animals  produced.  Between  1872 
and  1900  385  mares  and  353  stallions  (a  total  of  738 
Percherons)  were  bred  at  Oaklawn,  more  than  in 
any  five  other  breeding  establishments  operating  dur- 
ing the  '70 's,  '80 's  and  '90 's.  Aside  from  this,  the 
character  of  the  animals  produced  was  such  that 
Oaklawn  took  the  premier  position  at  the  outset,  and 
its  leadership  was  never  seriously  disputed  during 
the  lifetime  of  its  founder. 

Born  in  1842  of  New  England  parentage  Mark  W. 
Dunham  succeeded  in  1865  to  the  farm  which  his 
father  had  purchased  from  the  government  in  1833. 
His  education  was  obtained  in  the  local  schools  and 
on  the  farm,  under  the  guidance  of  a  father  who 
was  a  good  farmer  and  a  raiser  of  livestock  of  more 
than  average  merit.  The  father  died  when  Mark 
was  only  23,  and  he  at  once  assumed  the  management 
of  the  place  which  then  comprised  but  about  300 
acres,  located  near  Wayne,  111.,  where  the  buildings 
now  stand. 

Mr.  Dunham  as  a  practical  farmer  had  bred  good 
livestock  from  the  outset,  and  as  has  already  been 
briefly  mentioned  he  had  entered  upon  his  career  as 
a  horseman  by  becoming  a  member  of  the  Fletcher 
Horse  Co.,  headed  by  his  uncle,  M.  W.  Fletcher. 
This  was  the  company  that  had  bought  Success  and 
French  Emperor  in  1868,  shortly  after  their  im- 
portation by  W.  J.  Edwards.  A  few  years  later 
Mr.  Dunham  bought  Success  from  the  company  for 


162  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

$3,800.  The  excellent  character  of  the  colts  sired 
by  this  stallion  out  of  the  small,  nondescript  mares 
then  common  in  northern  Illinois,  and  the  decidedly 
greater  value  of  the  colts  for  work  or  sale  (they 
brought  twice  as  much  at  the  same  age  as  any  other 
colts  sired  in  the  county)  together  with  the  fact  that 
very  few  such  horses  were  in  service  convinced  Mr. 
Dunham  that  an  excellent  business  opening  was  here 
presented.  He  lacked  means,  but  had  the  confidence 
of  his  bankers,  who  financed  his  initial  venture — 
an  importation  of  6  stallions  in  1872.  He  did  so 
well  on  these  that  he  brought  over  17  stallions  and 
4  mares  in  1873,  and  steadily  increased  his  importa- 
tions in  both  stallions  and  mares,  until  by  the  end 
of  1880  he  had  imported  a  total  of  300  stallions  and 
75  mares. 

Home  Breeding  Emphasized. — From  the  very  be- 
ginning Mr.  Dunham  encouraged  the  breeding  of 
Percherons  in  America,  as  is  amply  attested  by  the 
fact  that  he  brought  over  75  of  the  152  mares  im- 
ported during  the  '70 's.  The  other  77  mares  were 
brought  over  by  17  different  importers,  the  Dillons 
bringing  18  and  Daniel  Dunham  17. 

Mignonette  584  (1447)  was  the  best  of  the  mares 
imported  at  this  time.  She  is  described  as  ^^16% 
hands  high,  weight  over  2,000  pounds  in  fair  order, 
dapple-gray.''  She  was  six  years  old  when  imported 
in  1876,  was  champion  mare  at  the  Centennial  Expo- 
sition at  Philadelphia  that  year,  and  was  a  noted 
winner  in  France  prior  to  importation.  She  was 
retained  in  the  stud  and  was  considered  one  of  the 


MID-\\^ST  PIONEERS  163 

best  brood  mares  at  Oaklawn.  She  was  the  dam  of 
Nyanza  869,  sold  to  head  the  stud  of  Henry  Avery, 
Wakefield,  Kans.,  in  1881.  Ophelia  590,  Minerva 
585,  Countess  537,  Adelaide  519,  and  Midocean  583 
were  other  mares  that  proved  to  be  good  producers 
at  Oaklawn.  By  the  end  of  1880  20  stallions  and  28 
mares  had  been  bred  and  reared  by  Mr.  Dunham 
as  an  earnest  of  his  belief  in  the  production  of  Ameri- 
can-bred Percherons.  Success  452,  Apollo  14,  and 
Vidocq  483  were  the  sires  used,  in  order  named,  dur- 
ing this  period. 

Some  Celebrities  Described. — As  a  matter  of  inter- 
est a  detailed  description  of  these  horses  is  here 
given: 

Success  452,  foaled  in  1864  and  imported  in  1868, 
was  16  hands  high;  weight  1,700  pounds.  He  was 
vigorous,  hard}^,  an  easy  keeper,  compact  and  sym- 
metrical, Avitli  unusual  elegance  and  attracuveness 
in  general  appearance  and  movement.  His  get  were 
described  as  uniformly  large-sized,  compactly  built, 
clean-limbed,  stylish  and  active,  whether  from  large 
or  small  mares. 

Apollo  14,  foaled  in  1868,  imported  in  1875,  was 
16%  hands  high,  weighed  2,000  pounds,  and  was  a 
dark  dapple-gray.  He  was  very  symmetrical  and 
stylish  and  excellent  in  quality.  Grand  champion 
at  the  Centennial  in  1876,  he  sired  but  5  purebred 
colts  at  Oaklawn  before  his  untimely  death  early 
in  1878.  Such  colts  as  he  did  sire  were  very  large, 
massive,  and  excellent  in  character. 

Vidocq  483  (732),  foaled  in  1869  and  imported  in 


164  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

1874  stood  161/4  hands  high,  weighed  1,850  pounds, 
and  was  dapple-gray  in  color.  He  was  very  com- 
pact, symmetrical  and  stylish,  with  extreme  spirit 
and  courage.  He  was  second  at  the  Societe  Hip- 
pique  Percheron  Show  at  Nogent  in  1872,  being 
beaten  by  his  half-brother,  Duke  de  Chartres  162 
(721).  He  was  sold  to  Leonard  Johnson  of  Min- 
nesota shortly  after  importation,  but  the  colts  sired 
by  him  in  France  proved  so  good  and  were  such 
consistent  winners  when  imported  that  Mr.  Dunham 
bought  him  back  to  head  the  Oaklawn  stud  in  1878. 
Here  he  remained  in  service  till  1885;  he  was  the 
chief  stock  horse  until  superseded  by  Brilliant  1271 
(755).  He  sired  36  purebred  colts,  most  of  which 
were  bred  by  Mr.  Dunham  and  Mr.  Johnson.  His 
greatest  son,  Nogent  738  (729),  was  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  Dillon  stud  in  1877. 

Drawing  from  the  Fountain  Head. — Mr.  Dunham's 
pioneer  service  as  an  importer  and  breeder  was 
notable  for  his  insistence  upon  purchasing  only 
horses  of  true  Percheron  breeding  and  character. 
He  was  not  long  in  locating  the  source  of  the  best 
draft  horses  in  France.  He  sought  his  material  in 
the  very  heart  of  The  Perche.  He  early  determined 
that  the  Percheron  combined  the  necessary  size  and 
quality  with  unusual  symmetry,  style,  action,  spirit, 
and  courage.  His  earliest  purchases  were  made  from 
such  men  as  M.  Cajet,  M.  Fardouet  pere,  M.  Dupont, 
M.  Miard  and  Ernest  Perriot,  Sr.,  all  located  in  The 
Perche,  and  all  leaders  in  Percheron  breeding.  His 
deliberate  selection  of  the  best  stallions  and  mares 


Daniel  Dunham 


'    das.  M. Fletcher    *     *  Leonard  Johnson  ' 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  165 

obtainable  in  France  for  use  in  his  own  breeding 
operations  at  Oaklawn  set  a  high  standard  for  other 
American  breeders  to  follow;  last  but  not  least,  his 
aggressive  advertising  through  the  agricultural 
press  and  at  fairs  and  expositions,  together  with 
well-planned  circular  and  catalog  distribution,  did 
more  to  bring  Percherons  to  the  front  in  these  early 
days  than  any  other  factor.  In  his  advertising  Mr. 
Dunham  placed  emphasis  on  the  greater  value  of  the 
colts  begotten  by  Percheron  sires,  and  repeatedly 
scored  by  pointing  out  that  the  colts  sired  by  his 
Percheron  stallions  were  selling  for  twice  as  much 
at  the  same  age  as  the  colts  sired  by  the  common 
grade  or  mixed-bred  sires  then  in  general  use.  The 
utility  value  of  Ihe  draft  horse  was  liis  theme, 
whether  for  work  or  sale,  and  he  drove  this  point 
home  so  aggressively  that  his  sales  of  Percherons 
in  1875  and  76  aggregated  almost  $200,000 — elo- 
quent testimony,  even  at  so  early  a  date,  as  to  the 
high  character  of  his  selections. 

The  Dillons. — Ellis  Dillon  and  his  nephews,  Levi 
and  Isaiah  Dillon,  operating  under  the  name  of  E. 
Dillon  &  Co.,  were  first  located  in  Tazewell,  and  later 
in  McLean  county  in  Illinois.  The  Dillons  were  the 
first  family  to  locate  in  Tazewell  county,  and  came 
there  from  Ohio  in  1823.  They  brought  ^vitli  them 
horses  larger  than  the  average  descended  from 
English  draft  stock.  Subsequently  they  had  the 
services  of  old  Samson,  an  imported  English  draft 
stallion,  probably  a  Shire,  brought  over  by  Col.  Oak- 
ley in  1843.     They  continued  the  use  of  this  blood 


166  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

and  bred  mares  of  more  than  average  size  at  a  time 
when  most  farmers  were  frittering  away  what  draft 
stock  they  had  by  mating  their  mares  to  trotting 
sires. 

As  already  related,  the  Dillons  obtained  Louis 
Napoleon  in  1857,  and  his  phenomenal  success  as  a 
sire  finally  led  them  to  decide  on  direct  importations. 
Four  stallions  were  brought  over  in  1870,  and  from 
1872  to  1880  importations  were  annually  made,  ex- 
cept in  1878.  From  1872  to  1880  they  imported  84 
stallions  and  18  mares. 

The  breeding  operations  of  the  Dillon  firm  were 
restricted  because  of  the  limited  number  of  mares 
available,  but  some  very  valuable  sires  were  in  use 
during  this  time.  St.  Laurent  435,  their  first  sire, 
was  a  horse  of  tremendous  scale;  and  while  he  was 
not  a  great  breeding  horse  some  of  his  get  sold  at  long 
prices  at  early  ages.  Nogent  738  (729)  was  imported 
in  1877  by  the  Dillons,  and  was  used  by  them  in  the 
late  '70 's  and  early  '80  ^s,  supplementing  St.  Laurent 
435  in  the  stud.  He  was  a  horse  of  exceptional  qual- 
ity and  merit  as  a  sire,  and  while  he  begot  only  5 
purebred  colts  after  importation  to  America,  the  colts 
sired  by  him  in  France,  many  of  which  were  later 
imported,  were  so  excellent  as  to  stamp  Nogent  738 
(729)  as  the  greatest  son  of  Vidocq  483  (732)  and 
one  of  the  ranking  sires  of  the  '70 's. 

All  told  the  Dillons  bred  28  stallions  and  13  mares 
between  1871  and  1880,  most  of  them  produced  after 
1876.  They  bred  some  very  high-class  animals,  espe- 
cially in  mares,  were  aggressive  exhibitors  in  the 


mid-wt:st  pioneers  167 

showring  and  good  advertisers,  and  by  reason  of 
their  prestige  and  influence  in  central  Illinois  in  a 
business  and  political  sense  tliey  exerted  a  strong 
influence  on  draft  horse  breeding.  They  were  not 
particular,  however,  to  hold  strictly  to  Percheron 
type  and  bought  many  useful  horses  of  other  French 
derivation.  They  emphasized  great  weight,  massive- 
ness,  and  ruggedness,  and  placed  rather  less  impor- 
tance upon  quality,  finish,  and  action.  They  led  the 
faction  which  held  that  all  horses  coming  from 
France  should  be  grouped  as  one  breed,  to  be  called 
**  French  Draft, '^  and  this  divergence  in  views  later 
caused  a  split  in  the  ranks  of  the  men  who  were 
fonvarding  Percheron  horse-breeding  interests  in 
America. 

Ohio  Breeders  of  the  '70 's. — While  the  most  ag- 
gressive Percheron  campaign  was  being  waged  in 
Illinois,  Ohio 's  breeders  were  not  idle.  Andrew  Gill 
and  Thomas  Jones  &  Son,  at  Plain  City,  and  H.  L. 
Wood,  at  Piqua,  bred  a  total  of  17  Percherons  during 
this  decade.  Thomas  Jones  was  the  leading  breeder. 
His  operations  were  really  started  in  1864  by  the 
purchase  of  Normandy  351  (Pleasant  Valley  Bill) 
from  Timothy  Bigelow.  Doll  540  (imported)  was 
bought  in  1866  and  her  filly.  Rose  604,  foaled  in  1866, 
was  retained,  though  Doll  and  her  next  foal,  a  filly, 
were  sold  in  1867  to  Gill  &  Woods  for  $1,000.  From 
Rose  604  came  three  recorded  fillies,  foaled  in  1869, 
'70,  and  '71,  all  sired  by  Normandy  351.  These  four 
mares  were  subsequently  bred  to  Ajax  5,  a  very  good 
big  horse,  imported  in  1871  by  the  Delaware  Import- 


1()8  A    lllSTOllY    OF    THE   PERCIIERON    llOKSE 

iiig  Co.,  and  bought  in  1874  by  Jones. '  By  1880  the 
firm  had  bred  and  reared  5  stallions  and  8  mares,  of 
more  than  average  merit. 

Ajax  5  was  about  17  hands  high  and  weighed 
approximately  a  ton  when  in  good  flesh.  He  made  a 
tremendous  improvement  in  the  size  of  the  Perche- 
rons  in  Ohio,  and  was  a  very  prepotent  sire,  both  as 
to  size  and  color.  In  the  18  years  during  which 
he  was  used  at  Pleasant  Valley  Stock  Farm  he  never 
sired  a  colt  that  was  not  gray  in  color.  Belle  522 
was  the  best  brood  mare  of  those  owned  by  the 
Jones  firm  at  this  time.  She  produced  altogether  5 
stallions  and  8  mares,  most  of  them  foaled  before 
1880,  and  her  descendants  are  to  be  found  in  all  parts 
of  Ohio. 

The  other  Ohio  breeders  operating  during  this  dec- 
ade produced  but  tAvo  animals  each,  but  they  had 
laid  the  foundation  for  more  extensive  work  and 
had,  through  the  use  of  Percheron  sires,  made 
notable  improvement  on  the  common  horses  of  their 
districts. 

The  East  and  the  Far  West. — The  men  who  stood 
third  and  fourth  in  number  of  Percherons  bred  dur- 
ing this  period  were  S.  W.  Ficklin  of  Virginia  with 
13,  and  W.  C.  Myer  of  Oregon  with  12.  Both  were 
pioneers  in  their  respective  states,  and  must  be  given 


*C.  M.  Jones,  the  son,  then  associated  with  his  father,  states 
that  the  farmers  in  his  part  of  Ohio  had  the  value  of  draft  horses 
driven  home  to  them  most  forcibly  during'  the  Civil  War,  when  the 
descendants  of  Louis  Napoleon,  Pleasant  Valley  Bill,  and  the  Baker 
Horse  broug-ht  twice  as  much  as  common  horses  and  were  eag^erly 
sought  for  by  army  buyers.  The  lesson  struck  home  and  the  farm- 
ers gave  liberal   patronage   to  draft  sires   thereafter. 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  169 

great  credit  for  campaigns  waged  against  odds. 
Farming  on  a  large  scale,  which  quickly  forced  the 
greater  utility  value  of  the  draft  horse  upon  the  at- 
tention of  cornbelt  farmers,  was  not  general  where 
these  men  lived,  and  the  farmers  and  horsemen  were 
less  numerous  and  less  able  to  buy. 

Mr.  Ficklin's  start  was  really  made  in  1866,  by 
the  importation  of  2  stallions  and  2  mares.  One  of 
these  mares  produced  a  filly  in  1867,  and  from  these 
3  mares  he  produced  13  colts  during  the  period  under 
consideration.  The  stallions  produced  were  lost  to 
sight  in  the  common  stock  of  Virginia,  but  the  fe- 
male line  persisted  and  is  today  represented  by  more 
than  60  descendants,  in  the  studs  of  T.  L.  White, 
F.  B.  Albert,  D.  T.  Martin,  C.  H.  King,  D.  M  Cloyd, 
and  others,  all  of  Virginia.  More  than  40  of  these 
trace  through  Constance  8tli  8215,  foaled  in  1879. 
Mr.  Ficklin  's  Percheron  breeding  ceased  in  1888. 

On  the  Pacific  Coast. — In  December,  1870,  William 
C.  Myer  of  Ashland,  Ore.,  bought  White  Prince  496. 
His  place  was  located  in  a  valley  tributary  to  the 
Rogue  Eiver.  Here,  within  sight  of  mountain  peaks 
and  with  Indian  pony  mares  as  the  chief  mates  in 
his  harem,  that  imported  horse  started  the  work  of 
improvement.  The  colts  were  uniformly  good  in 
color,  compact,  well-proportioned,  with  style,  sym- 
metry, and  size.  The  progeny,  even  from  pony  mares 
not  exceeding  800  pounds,  weighed  1,200  pounds  and 
over.  Such  results  were  exactly  what  the  western 
ranchmen  wanted,  and  as  a  consequence  Mr.  Myer 
established  a  stud  by  bringing  out  2  more  stallions 


170  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

and  4  producing  mares,  2  of  which  came  from  Ohio, 
one  from  Pennsylvania,  and  one,  of  Ohio  breeding, 
from  Wisconsin.  The  stallions  were  Pride  of  Perche 
380,  imported  in  1874,  and  Gen.  Flenry,  imported  in 
1875.  Both  were  brought  over  by  Fullington  &  Co. 
of  Ohio.  Marked  impetus  was  given  to  the  growing 
popularity  of  the  Percheron  by  these  shipments  of 
Mr.  Myer,  and  he  is  justly  credited  with  the  most 
important  pioneer  work  on  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Winter.— W.  IT.  Winter  of  Princeton, 
Daniel  Dunham  of  Wayne,  Gr.  W.  Stubblefield  &  Co. 
of  Bloomington,  and  Eli  Hodgson  of  Ottawa,  all  of 
Illinois,  were  other  leaders,  with  11,  10,  8,  and  5 
American-bred  Percherons  to  their  respective  credits 
by  the  close  of  1880. 

Dr.  Winter  was  of  English  descent  and  came  from 
Pennsylvania  to  Princeton  in  1850.  He  was  engaged 
in  the  drug  business,  but  was  by  inheritance  a  farmer 
and  soon  established  Edgewood  Farm.  Here  he 
bred  Shorthorn  cattle  and  draft  horses.  In  1874  he 
made  his  start  in  Percherons  by  purchasing  Mal- 
branche  293,  imported  in  1873  by  the  Princeton 
Horse  Co.,  and  in  1874  he  had  the  mares  Jeanne  560 
and  Joan  562  imported  through  N.  C.  Buswell.  The 
mares  both  proved  to  be  good  breeders  and  by  the 
close  of  1880  he  had  3  stallions  and  8  mares  descend- 
ed from  this  modest  foundation. 

Malbranche  293  is  described  as  a  large  gray,  about 
17.1  hands  high,  weighing  over  a  ton.  He  was  a 
deep-bodied,  wide-chested  horse  with  two  good  ends 
and  a  good  middle.    He  was  considered  the  best  sire 


MID-WEST  PIONEERS  171 

ever  used  at  Edgewood  Farm,  although  many  of  his 
colts  were  bays  and  sorrels — colors  that  were  none 
too  popular.  Bernadotte  36,  a  bay  bred  by  Dr.  Win- 
ter, sired  by  Malbranche  293  out  of  Jeanne  560,  was 
also  used,  supplementing  his  sire. 

Dr.  Winter  was  a  man  of  high  character  and  con- 
sidered a  very  good  judge  of  horses.  He  exerted  a 
wholesome  influence  on  horse  breeding  in  his  dis- 
trict, but  this  was  largely  local  at  the  time.  Dr.  Ezra 
Stetson  of  Neponset,  111.,  was  one  of  his  contempo- 
raries who  bred  a  few  horses  during  this  early 
period ;   his  operations  will  be  dealt  with  later. 

Daniel  Dunham. — Mark  Dunham's  elder  brother 
Daniel's  operations  during  the  decade  under  review 
require  but  passing  comment.  He  bred  10  alto- 
gether, from  mares  purchased  at  Oaklawn,  using  the 
sires  which  were  at  the  head  of  his  brother's  stud. 
In  1880  he  imported  3  stallions  and  17  mares,  selected 
with  particular  view  to  his  own  Percheron  breeding 
operations,  so  that  his  foundation  was  properly  laid 
at  the  close  of  the  time  we  are  considering. 

Eli  Hodgson. — Mr.  Hodgson  had  used  Louis  Na- 
poleon during  the  early  '60 's.  He  owned  some 
good  grade  draft  horses,  and  in  1874  made  an  im- 
portation of  3  stallions  and  1  mare.  Of  the  stal- 
lions Bob  Havre  57  proved  most  valuable.  He  sired 
but  few  purebred  colts,  for  purebred  mares  were 
scarce  in  his  time,  but  his  get  out  of  common  grade 
mares  were  so  good  that  he  earned  over  $10,000  for 
his  owner  in  10  seasons  and  was  then  sold  at  the  age 
of  13  for  $2,500  to  W.  P.  Corbin,  Pontiac,  111.    The 


172  A   HISTORY   OP   THE  PERCHEKON    HORSE 

mare,  Pride  of  Paris  593,  proved  to  be  a  regular 
producer,  but  she  and  her  descendants  were  coarse 
and  so  lacking  in  both  quality  and  symmetry  that 
Mr.  Hodgson  discarded  all  of  them  after  a  few  years. 

Hodgson's  operations  between  1870  and  1880 
served  to  develop  great  interest  in  draft  horse  breed- 
ing in  La  Salle  county,  and  as  a  direct  result  a 
number  of  purebred  studs  were  established  there  in 
the  next  decade,  of  which  we  shall  have  more  to 
say  anon. 

Stubblefield  Importations. — George  W.  Stubble- 
field  &  Co.,  Bloomington,  111.,  made  importations  in 
1874,  '75,  and  '80,  and  bred  altogether  8  Percherons 
by  the  close  of  this  period.  Henry  Abrahams  224, 
imported  in  1874,  was  the  only  sire  of  consequence 
used  by  Mr.  Stubblefield  during  this  time.  He  was 
an  upstanding  horse,  a  little  over  17  hands,  weighing 
around  1,800  pounds.  He  was  a  light  gray,  with 
fine  head  and  neck,  short  back,  and  heavily  muscled 
quarters.  He  had  extra  quality,  good  style  and 
action.  As  a  sire  on  the  common  mares  of  McLean 
county  he  proved  extremely  popular  and  did  much 
to  increase  the  demand  for  Percheron  sires  in  that 
section. 

Percheron  Breeding  in  Other  States. — A  detailed 
discussion  of  the  work  of  the  32  other  breeders  who 
contributed  to  Percheron  breeding  during  this  pio- 
neer period  is  hardh^  necessary,  for  in  most  in- 
stances they  were  merely  laying  the  foundations  for 
later  work,  and  while  so  doing  aroused  interest  in 
draft  horse   breeding   and   convinced   the   average 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  173 

farmers  who  came  in  contact  with  the  get  of  Per- 
cheron  stallions  out  of  common  mares  of  the  tremen- 
dous value  to  accrue  through  the  use  of  such  sires. 
The  missionary  work  done  by  these  early  breeders 
was  such  that  their  names  are  worthy  of  mention  on 
the  pioneers '  roll  of  honor,  together  w^ith  the  number 
of  their  productions. 

They  were:  R.  W.  &  T.  T.  Stubblefield,  Bloom- 
ington,  111.,  2;  Henry  Avery,  Wakefield,  Kans.,  2; 
C.  Billborrow,  Paw  Paw,  Mich.,  1 ;  James  Dunn,  Wa- 
seca, Minn.,  3;  Andrew  Gill,  Plain  City,  0.,  2;  Ezra 
Stetson,  Neponset,  111.,  4;  H.  Y.  P.  Block,  Aberdeen, 
Mo.,  3;  C.  Cameron,  Brickersville,  Pa.,  4;  J.  J.  Park- 
er, West  Chester,  Pa.,  1;  J.  W.  H.  Reynolds,  Frank- 
fort, Ky.,  1;  H.  A.  Babcock,  Xeenah,  Wis.,  1;  A.  W. 
Cook,  Charles  City,  la.,  4;  Jeff  C.  Clark,  Normandy, 
Mo.,  2;  Ed.  Hodgson,  Ottaw^a,  111.,  5;  Rogy  &  Trim- 
ble, Walnut,  111.,  2;  H.  M.  Aldrich,  Orland,  Ind.,  1; 
C.  W.  Pierce,  Boston,  Mass.,  1 ;  W.  W.  &  Al.  Power, 
Pulaski,  la.,  1;  Reuben  Wright,  Normal,  111.,  1;  Bangs 
&  Billborrow,  Paw  Paw,  Mich.,  1;  Bangs  &  Co.,  Paw 
Paw,  Mich.,  1;  Dickinson  Bros.,  Ridgeway,  Pa.,  2; 
E.  0.  Hills,  Bloomingdale,  111.,  1;  T.  Skillman,  Peta- 
luma,  Cal.,  1;  Charles  K.  Harrison,  Annandale,  Md., 
1;  L.  M.  Hartley,  Salem,  la.,  1;  Avery  &  Murphy,  De- 
troit, Mich.,  1;  F.  J.  Schreiber,  Moorhead,  Minn.,  3; 
W.  H.  Hubbard,  Evanston,  111.,  1;  K.  L.  Wood,  Piqua, 
0.,  2;  S.  Murphy,  Detroit,  Mich.,  1;  Poindexter  & 
Orr,  Dillon,  Mont.,  1. 

The  popularity  of  Percherons  was  materially  ha- 
stened by  the  importations  made  by  horsemen  who 


174  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

brought  over  only  stallions,  and  wliose  work  was 
purely  that  of  dealers.  While  these  men  cannot  be 
considered  to  have  contributed  so  directly  to  the  up- 
building of  Percheron  breeding  as  those  who  proved 
their  faith  in  horse  breeding  by  investing  capital  in 
breeding  mares  to  be  retained  in  their  own  studs, 
their  work  was  nevertheless  extremely  valuable  in 
that  it  placed  numerous  Percheron  sires  of  merit  in 
communities  where  draft  horse  improvement  was  be- 
ing earnestly  sought. 

The  unifomily  good  results  obtained  by  crossing 
such  Percheron  sires  on  the  common  stock  of  that 
time  created  a  strong  demand  for  Percherons,  made 
possible  the  tremendous  expansion  of  the  following 
period,  and  poured  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars 
into  the  pockets  of  American  farmers  through  in- 
creased values  of  colts  produced.  Among  the  men 
of  this  class  who  were  especially  active  prior  to  1880 
were  James  L.  Perry  of  Wilmington,  111.,  A.  W.  Cook 
of  Charles  City,  la..  Virgin  &  Brown  of  Fairbury, 
111.,  Degen  Bros,  of  Ottawa,  111.,  E.  B.  Chisholm  of 
Elgin,  111.,  the  Onarga  Importing  Co.  and  Euss,  Mc- 
Courtey  &  Slattery,  both  of  Onarga,  111.,  Fullington, 
Phellis  &  Co.  of  Irwin  Station,  0.,  the  Delaware  Im- 
porting Co.  of  Delaware,  0.,  N.  C.  Buswell  of  Prince- 
ton, 111.,  Dan  McCarthy  of  Ames,  la.,  the  Marion 
County  Importing  Co.  of  Ohio,  M.  D.  Covell,  first  of 
Ohio  and  later  of  Kansas,  and  numerous  others  scat- 
tered over  more  than  fifteen  states.  These  are  men- 
tioned in  the  order  of  their  importance  as  to  number 
imported. 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  175 

James  H.  Sanders. — Contemporaneous  with  the 
entrance  of  these  men  into  the  field  of  Percheron  im- 
porting and  breeding,  the  late  James  Harvey  San- 
ders, founder  of  live  stock  journalism  and  compiler 
of  the  first  Percheron  Stud  Book  ever  projected,  com- 
menced as  early  as  1868  in  the  state  of  Iowa  activities 
destined  to  have  a  far-reaching  influence  in  the  mid- 
dle west. 

Beared  upon  a  farm  in  central  Ohio,  Mr.  Sanders 
had  accompanied  some  of  the  pioneers  across  the 
western  prairies  prior  to  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil 
War.  Locating  in  Keokuk  Co.,  la.,  he  embraced  the 
first  opportunity  to  indulge  an  inborn  fondness  for 
good  horses.  He  had  personal  knowledge  of  the 
superiority  of  the  descendants  of  the  French  stallions 
imported  into  his  native  state  over  the  ordinary 
farm  stock  of  the  western  country,  and  in  1868  he 
went  back  to  his  old  Ohio  home  and  bought  a  four- 
year-old  gray  known  as  Victor  Hugo,  sired  by  imp. 
Count  Eobert,  commonly  known  as  the  Baker  Horse, 
imported  by  the  Darby  Plains  Co.  in  1857,  and — as 
he  tells  us  in  an  old  hand  bill  printed  after  this  colt 
was  taken  to  Iowa — ^^universally  admitted  to  be  the 
best  trotter  ever  imported  from  France  into  that 
region,  now  18  years  old,  sound  and  hearty,  and 
making  a  fortune  for  his  owners.^'  The  dam  of  Vic- 
tor Hugo  was  by  '  ^  Old  Bill, ' '  imported  by  Dr.  Brown 
of  Circleville  in  1851 — the  "Valley  Horse''  of  such 
celebrity  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  "now  21 
years  old  and  so  highly  valued  that  his  owner  re- 
fuses to  put  a  price  upon  him. ' '     Victor  Hugo 's 


176  A    IIJSTOUY    UF    THE   I'EKCllEKUN    HORSE 

graiidam  was  a  mare  by  old  Louis  Napoleon,  then 
still  living  at  the  age  of  23  years,  the  property  of  the 
Dillons,  the  sum  of  $1,000  having  been  offered  for 
him  only  12  months  previous  by  Mr.  FuUington  of 
Ohio. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  this  stallion  was  a  seven- 
eighths-blood  horse,  and  individually  he  Avas  in 
every  way  worthy  of  the  three  splendid  sires  whose 
blood  coursed  in  his  veins.  He  stood  about  16% 
hands,  w^eighed  about  1,550  pounds,  and  was  put  in 
service  at  Sigourney  in  the  spring  of  1869  at  a  fee  of 
$20  to  insure  a  mare  Avith  foal.  He  was  fairly  well 
patronized  from  the  start  even  at  that  figure,  and 
Mr.  Sanders  encouraged  farmers  to  breed  to  the 
horse  by  offering  to  buy  the  choice  of  the  foals  to  be 
dropped  at  $125  at  weaning  time,  and  the  second 
best  foal  at  $100.  After  several  years  of  good  work 
in  the  stud  Victor  Hugo  died  from  a  ruptured  blood 
vessel.*  He  was  one  of  the  first  stallions  of  his  type 
taken  into  the  state  of  Iowa,  and  his  success  paved 
the  w^ay  for  the  profitable  introduction  of  the  valu- 
able imported  horses  Dieppe,  Diligence,  and  Temp- 
est, subsequently  purchased  by  Mr.  Sanders.  Dieppe 
and  Diligence  w^ere  imported  by  E.  Dillon  &  Co. 
Dieppe  proved  one  of  the  greatest  sires  of  his  day 
in  the  central  west.  Mr.  Sanders  paid  the  sum  of 
$3,000  for  Dieppe,  and  it  proved  a  fine  investment. 


*Victor  Hug-o  was  the  first  draft  stallion  the  compiler  of  this 
volume  ever  saw,  and  our  recollection  of  this  fine  big  horse  is 
entirely  clear.  He  had  the  traditional  activity  of  the  Percheron 
race,  easily  doing"  five  miles  an  hour  at  the  Avalk.  He  was  worked 
in  heavy  harness  every  winter,  and  was  the  pride  and  admiration 
of  the  entire  community  in  which  he  was  owned. 


JAMES     HARYEY      SANDERS.      FOUNDER      OF      THE     AMERICAN      PERCHERON 

STUD   BOOK. 


MID-WEST  PIONEERS  177 

This  horse  lived  to  a  ripe  old  age,  and  did  more  for 
the  improvement  of  the  farm  horses  of  Keokuk  and 
adjoining  counties  than  any  other  stallion  of  his  time. 
A  Campaign  of  Education. — Mr.  Sanders  was  not 
only  one  of  the  pioneer  introducers  of  Percheron 
blood  west  of  the  Mississippi  River,  but  he  set  in 
motion  educational  influences  that  greatly  facilitated 
the  subsequent  successes  of  the  Percheron  through- 
out the  United  States.  He  was  first  of  all  a  student. 
In  his  library  were  the  works  of  Charles  Darwin, 
Herbert  Spencer,  Huxley,  Francis  Galton,  and  other 
scientists  specializing  on  the  laws  governing  the 
transmission  of  hereditary  qualities.  He  read  every- 
thing he  could  find  in  print  relating  to  animal  breed- 
ing. He  felt  the  rising  of  the  great  tide  of  live  stock 
improvement  that  swept  through  the  mid-west 
states  during  the  years  immediately  following  the 
close  of  the  Civil  War.  The  state  fairs  were  begin- 
ning to  attract  good  exhibits.  Shorthorn  cattle, 
^'Norman''  and  trotting  horses,  as  well  as  "Magie" 
swine,  were  seen  and  talked  about.  Nobody  knew 
much  about  any  of  the  ''new"  breeds,  but  many 
were  interested  and  were  seeking  light.  There  was 
no  medium  of  communication  between  those  who 
awned  or  were  considering  the  purchase  of  better 
animals  to  replace  the  native  types.  Little  informa- 
tion was  available.  Why  not  a  newspaper,  a  peri- 
odical devoted  especially  to  the  discussion  of  animal 
breeding  and  management,  and  the  news  of  the  busi- 
ness in  general?  With  J.  H.  Sanders  to  think  was 
to  act. 


178  A    IlISTOKY   OF   THE   PEKCIIERON    HORSE 

ill  tlio  month  of  May,  1869,  Mr.  Sanders  began 
the  publication  of  a  16-page  monthly,  which  he  per- 
sonally edited  and  issued  at  his  own  expense  from 
the  then  primitive  printing  plant  of  the  local 
newspaper  known  as  the  "News.''  He  was  at 
the  time  engaged  in  banking  and  railway  con- 
struction, besides  trying  to  wake  up  the  farmers  of 
his  state  to  the  desirability  of  better  blood.  His  pur- 
pose in  founding  the  "Western  Stock  Journal"  was 
purely  altruistic.  But  it  met  with  a  cordial  recep- 
tion, and  after  a  successful  career  of  a  few  years  its 
possibilities  were  so  obvious  that  a  Chicago  syndicate 
took  it  over  and  made  it  the  basis  of  the  monthly 
magazine  known  as  the  ' '  National  Live  Stock  Jour- 
nal," Mr.  Sanders  assuming  by  request  of  the  pub- 
lishers the  editorship  of  the  horse  department  to  be 
conducted  by  mail  from  Iowa.  Then  came  the  great 
fire  of  1871,  the  financial  panic  of  1873,  the  sweeping 
away  of  his  private  fortune,  the  enforced  sale  of  the 
country  place  that  had  been  the  pride  of  his  heart, 
removal  to  Chicago,  and  the  assumption  of  the  duties 
of  editor-in-chief  of  the  powerful  magazine  that  was 
being  builded  upon  his  little  Iowa  venture  as  a 
foundation. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  when  the  western 
draft  horse  breeding  interest  began  about  1875  to 
feel  the  first  great  impulses  of  the  boom  that  was 
now  impending  the  necessary  cooperation  for  a  suc- 
cessful campaign  of  publicity  and  promotion  in  be- 
half of  Percheron  interests  was  assured.  Mr.  San- 
ders had  the  personal  knowledge,  the  ability,  and 


MID-WEST  PIONEERS  179 

the  medium  of  communication  with  the  public  that 
combined  to  render  his  services  invaluable  at  this 
juncture;  the  more  so  because  he  had  the  confidence 
of  the  western  people,  and  had  already  proved  his 
breadth  of  view  by  adding  to  his  owai  stud  in  Iowa, 
by  purchase  from  Hon.  George  Murray  of  Racine, 
"Wis.,  at  a  cost  of  $5,000  the  celebrated  imported 
Clydesdale  stallion  Donald  Dinnie.  His  sympathy 
with  and  advocacy  of  all  the  improved  breeds  prom- 
ising to  be  useful  to  the  American  people  was  a  mat- 
ter of  common  knowledge.* 

Foundation  of  the  Stud  Book. — With  the  great 
expansion  of  the  importing  business  following  the 
entrance  into  it  of  the  Dillon  confederacy  and  M.  W. 
Dunham  the  necessity  for  the  establishment  of  a  stud 
book  was  sensed  by  those  most  in  interest.  Up  to 
that  time  ^'The  General  Stud  Book"  of  England, 
wherein  the  pedigrees  of,  and  other  data  concerning, 
the  Thoroughbred  horse  were  preserved,  had  been 
the  sole  register  of  the  kind  in  existence.  Neither  in 
France  nor  in  Britain  had  a   similar  record  been 


*In  further  illustration  of  Mr.  Sanders'  desire  to  work  disin- 
terestedly for  the  improvement  of  our  American  draft  horse  stock 
as  a  whole,  may  be  cited  the  following  announcement  appearing-  in 
the  editorial  columns  of  the  "National  Live  Stock  Journal"  for 
December,   1876: 

"A  Clydesdale  Register. — At  the  urgent  request  of  many  of  the 
leading  breeders  and  importers  of  Clydesdale  horses  in  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  the  editor  of  The  Journal  has  commenced  the 
compilation  of  a  Clydesdale  Register,  whicli  will  be  published  as 
soon  as  the  work  can  be  completed.  It  will  contain  an  account 
of  the  various  breeds  of  cart  or  draft  horses  in  Great  Britain,  the 
origin  of  the  Clydesdale  breed,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  a 
complete  list  of  the  imported  and  prominent  native-bred  Clydesdale 
horses  and  mares  in  the  United  States  and  Canada,  with  their 
pedigrees." 

Only  great  pressure  of  work  that  accumulated  shortly  after- 
ward prevented  the  carrying  out  of  this  sincere  intent. 


180  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHEKON    HORSE 

touiuled  for  any  of  the  draft  breeds,  tliougii  some 
agitation  of  the  subject  had  been  started  in  both 
England  and  Scotland  in  connection  with  the  Eng- 
lish Cart  Horse  (as  the  Shire  was  then  known)  and 
the  Clydesdale.  ^'The  General  Stud  Book''  was  be- 
gun as  a  private  venture.  There  was  no  organiza- 
tion responsible  for  its  arrangement,  rules  or  publi- 
cation, its  chief  utility  lying  in  the  aid  it  gave  the 
Jockey  Club  in  keeping  the  British  turf  free  from 
fraud  and  originally  in  the  stamp  of  official  approval 
it  gave  to  the  private  records  of  breeders  kept  and 
conducted  in  accordance  with  its  few  and  simple 
regulations.  It  was  plain,  however,  that  a  different 
policy  must  be  pursued  with  registers  in  which  the 
pedigrees  of  drafters  should  be  preserved.  Private 
ownership  was  impossible  on  the  face  of  things.  A 
society  must  be  formed  by  the  breeders  and  import- 
ers for  the  protection  and  promotion  of  their  mutual 
interests  and  the  verification  and  registration  of 
pedigrees. 

Therefore  late  in  1875  this  proposal  to  establish  a 
stud  book  for  imported  heavy  French  horses,  their 
progeny  and  descendants  took  shape  in  the  issuance 
of  a  call  for  a  meeting  of  importers  and  breeders. 
In  pursuance  of  that  call,  which  W.  E.  Prichard,  the 
only  surviving  member  of  the  gathering,  believes 
was  sent  out  by  the  Dillons,  a  meeting  was  held  in 
the  old  Briggs  House,  Chicago,  in  December,  1875 — 
the  very  first  of  its  kind  ever  convened  with  the  same 
object  in  view.  Present  on  that  most  memorable 
occasion  were  M.  W.  Dunham,  Ellis,  Levi  and  Isaiah 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  181 

Dillon,  James  A.  Perry,  W.  J.  Edwards,  James  L. 
Owen,  W.  E.  Pricliard  and  J.  H.  Sanders,  all  of  Illi- 
nois, and  Simon  Ruble  of  Wisconsin.  Two  sessions 
were  held  without  definite  result,  but  a  few  weeks 
later — in  February,  1876 — at  a  meeting  held  in  the 
Transit  House,  Union  Stock  Yards,  Chicago,  with  a 
larger  number  present,  the  '  ^  National  Association  of 
Importers  and  Breeders  of  Norman  Horses"  was 
finally  launched  on  the  troubled  waters  of  pedigree 
registration  and  breed  promotion.  A  full  report  of 
the  discussion  had  upon  this  occasion  has  not  been 
handed  down,  but  it  is  a  matter  of  record  that  the 
following  resolution  was  passed: 

^^  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  the 
Picardy  horse,  the  Bolougne  horse,  the  Percheron, 
and  the  Normandy  horse  are  essentially  the  same 
race  or  breed,  and  should  be  designated  as  the  Nor- 
man horse.'' 

This  resolution  was  introduced  by  James  A.  Perry, 
Wilmington,  111.,  and  was  unanimously  adopted.  A 
constitution  and  by-laws  were  also  adopted,  provid- 
ing that  ' '  any  person  owning  an  imported  or  native 
full-blood  Norman  stallion  or  mare  may  become  a 
member  of  this  association."  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
this  meeting  was  not  an  altogether  representative 
one,  even  for  that  early  day.  It  was  true  that  the 
term  *' Norman"  had  been  in  very  general  use  in 
this  country  from  the  earliest  importations.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  it  had  no  significance  at  that  time, 
nor  at  any  other  time  so  far  as  indicating  a  fixed 
breed  of  draft  horses  known  as  such  in  France  was 
concerned,  for  the  simple  reason  that  no  such  type  as 


182  A    IIJSTOHV    OF    THE   PEKOllEKON    llOKSE 

a  Norman  draft  horse  was  ever  known  in  that  coun- 
try. Our  people  knew  that  most  of  the  original  im- 
portations, and  many  of  the  later  ones  as  well,  had 
been  bought  within  the  borders  of  the  ancient  prov- 
ince of  Normandy.  Little  or  nothing  was  known  at 
that  date  as  to  the  part  which  the  province  of  Perche 
had  really  played  in  the  production  of  the  best  horses 
of  this  stamp  on  the  other  side.  There  were  several 
different  types  of  draft  horses  used  and  bred  in  the 
Normandy  district,  but  there  was  no  draft  horse 
originated  and  perpetuated  under  the  name  of  '^  Nor- 
man" in  that  province. 

Naturally  the  early  American  importers  were  first 
attracted  by  the  horses  seen  in  the  streets  of  the 
commercial  centres  near  the  coast  of  northern  Nor- 
mandy, such  as  Eoucn,  and  it  was  here  that  they 
began  making  their  first  purchases.  They  did  not 
at  first  penetrate  as  far  inland  as  The  Perche.  Just 
what  proportion  of  Perch er on  blood  was  carried  by 
Louis  Napoleon,  the  Valley  Horse,  and  others  of  the 
early  celebrities  can  never  be  known,  but  from  the 
prepotency  which  the  best  of  these  stallions  after- 
wards demonstrated  when  crossed  upon  the  native 
mares  of  the  United  States  it  is  safe  to  assume  that 
they  were  strongly  bred  horses,  and  that  in  all  prob- 
ability some  of  them  at  least  had  their  origin  in  the 
Percheron  country  proper.  That  is  at  this  late  day, 
however,  a  purely  academic  consideration. 

It  is  easy  to  understand  why  those  who  were  large- 
ly interested  in  these  horses  in  1876  should  prefer 
to  stand  by  a  name  which  had  become  so  well  estab- 


MID- WEST  PIONEERS  183 

lished  on  this  side  the  Atlantic,  even  though  it  were 
known  to  be  a  positive  misnomer.  It  was  purely  a 
title  of  convenience,  and  this  small  conference  of  im- 
porters and  breeders  undoubtedly  had  in  mind  the 
idea  that  it  mattered  little  as  to  what  these  horses 
were  called  in  this  country  so  long  as  they  were  of  a 
good  sort  and  were  rendering  the  service  for  which 
they  had  been  introduced.  However,  there  w^ere 
others  who  took  a  different  view  and  who  thought 
that  it  would  be  unw^ise,  and  in  the  long  run  unfor- 
tunate, if  a  purely  American  invention  of  this  sort 
should  be  perpetuated.  The  more  the  history  of  the 
type  was  studied,  the  more  convinced  were  those  who 
had  most  regard  for  the  facts  of  history,  that  the 
word  ''NoiTQan"  should  ultimately  be  abandoned. 
Prominent  among  those  who  held  this  view  at  this 
time  were  M.  AV.  Dunham,  B.  H.  Campbell,  and  Mr. 
Sanders.  They  knew  of  course  that  the  temi  ^^Xor- 
man"  was  in  general  use,  and  had  indeed  employed 
it  themselves  in  accordance  w^ith  the  prevailing  usage 
in  the  west.  This  did  not  prevent  them,  however, 
from  undertaking  to  bring  about  a  modification  of 
the  term. 

Long  before  the  meeting  in  question  had  been 
called  Mr.  Sanders  had  been  engaged  in  gathering 
authentic  data  concerning  the  earlier  importations 
and  their  descendants  of  the  pure  blood,  with  a  view 
towards  laying  the  foundation  for  an  American 
breeding  interest.  In  the  month  of  June,  1876,  in  an 
editorial  published  in  the  ^^  National  Live  Stock 
Journal,"  he  announced  that  he  had  undertaken  the 


184  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

compilation  of  a  "Norman  Stud  Book''  as  a  private 
enterprise.  While  personally  not  in  favor  of  the 
adoption  of  this  name,  he  apparently  at  first  deemed 
it  best  to  follow  the  lead  of  those  who  had  attended 
the  February  conference  above  mentioned.  The 
work  of  preparing  the  initial  volume  progressed 
rapidly,  and  the  book  was  issued  from  the  "National 
Live  Stock  Journal"  press  late  in  that  year,  but 
fortunately  a  second  edition  was  soon  required  and  in 
this  revision  Mr.  Sanders,  upon  his  own  motion, 
decided  to  adopt  as  the  title  for  the  volume  "The 
Percheron-Norman  Stud  Book."*  He  believed  he 
was  justified  in  so  doing.  He  had  become  convinced 
in  his  own  mind,  and  rightly  enough,  that  the  real 
parent  stock  in  France  was  the  Percheron,  and  upon 
his  own  initiative  he  adopted  the  hyphenated  title. 
This  was  of  course  a  compromise  between  historical 
fact  abroad  and  American  usage  at  home,  and  like 
all  compromises  was  not  particularly  satisfactory  to 
anybody  concerned.  Nevertheless,  it  stood  for  some 
years. 

The  Peoria  Convention  of  1878. — At  the  original 
meeting  at  Chicago  in  1876  there  were  but  three 
states  represented,  and  these  by  only  14  individuals. 
In  the  meantime.  Volume  1  of  the  Percheron-Norman 
Stud  Book  had  appeared — the  first  draft  horse  pedi- 
gree register  ever  issued  on  either  side  the  Atlantic. 
On  Feb.  14,  1878,  another  meeting  of  the  association 


♦Originally  Vol.  I  of  the  Percheron-Norman  Stud  Book  was  bound 
in  green  covers,  and  though  it  had  145  pages  as  against  212  for  the 
revised  edition — bound  in  the  familiar  brown  boards — it  was  actually 
little  more  than  one-half  the  size  of  the  latter  book. 


MID-WEST  PIONEERS  185 

that  had  been  formed  at  Chicago  two  years  previ- 
ously w^as  called,  at  which  the  attendance  numbered 
nearly  100.  Fifty  of  these  were  active  members 
representing  8  different  states  and  territories.  At 
this  meeting,  which  was  presided  over  by  Ellis  Dil- 
lon, it  was  moved  by  Dr.  Ezra  Stetson  that  the  con- 
stitution be  amended  so  as  to  change  the  name  of  the 
organization  to  ''The  National  Association  of  Im- 
porters and  Breeders  of  Percheron  Horses.^'  Col. 
B.  H.  Campbell,  who  acted  as  secretary  of  this  his- 
toric conference,  moved  to  amend  by  substituting  the 
words  ''Percheron-Norman,''  as  used  by  Mr.  Sanders 
in  the  first  volume  of  the  register.  This  amendment 
was  accepted  by  Dr.  Stetson,  and  after  an  extended 
discussion  participated  in  by  Mr.  Dunham,  Mr.  San- 
ders, Mr.  Virgin,  Mr.  Isaiah  Dillon,  and  others,  the 
motion  as  amended  w^as  unanimously  adopted. 

A  motion  to  reaffirm  the  action  of  the  Chicago 
meeting  of  two  years  previously,  wherein  it  w^as  de- 
clared that  the  various  types  of  draft  horses  to  be 
found  in  France  under  different  names  were  sub- 
stantially all  of  the  same  breed,  provoked  a  spirited 
discussion  and  was  finally  tabled.  A  motion  was 
adopted  suggesting  that  for  the  future  entries  for  the 
stud  book  showing  five  crosses  of  purebred  horses 
on  a  native  foundation  should  be  accepted  for  reg- 
istry. Officers  were  then  elected  as  follow^s:  Presi- 
dent, Daniel  Dunham,  Wayne,  111.;  treasurer,  T.  C. 
Sterrett,  Warrensburg,  111.;  secretary,  B.  H.  Camp- 
bell, Des  Moines,  la.  The  following  resolutions  were 
unanimously  adopted: 


186  A   IJISTUHY    OF   THE  PEKCHEKON    IIUKSE 

'*  Resolved,  That  the  history  of  the  Percheron- 
Norman  horse,  published  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Sanders,  as 
an  introduction  to  his  Stud  Book,  is  the  most  valu- 
able contribution  to  the  literature  pertaining  to  this 
matchless  breed  of  horses  which  has  ever  been  writ- 
ten in  this  country  or  Europe;  and  that  for  the  labor 
and  ability  which  he  has  bestowed  upon  his  work, 
Mr.  Sanders  has  placed  the  National  Association  of 
Importers  and  Owners  of  Percheron-Norman  horses, 
as  well  as  all  others  interested  in  the  improvement  of 
our  horses,  under  great  and  lasting  obligations  to 
him. 

"Resolved,  That  while  the  registry  of  animals  con- 
tains some  errors,  mostly  typographical,  the  work, 
on  the  whole,  gives  evidence  of  much  labor  and  care; 
and  that,  both  as  a  history  and  a  record,  the  Stud 
Book  is  worthy  of  the  entire  confidence  of  the  public. 

"Resolved,  That  the  Stud  Book  is  calculated 
greatly  to  increase  the  popularity  of  the  Percheron- 
Norman  horse  in  this  country;  and  that  it  is  not  only 
to  the  interest,  but  it  is  the  duty  of  all  importers  and 
owners  to  aid  in  its  circulation. 

"Resolved,  That  Mr.  Sanders  has  not  only  labored 
conscientiously  in  our  behalf,  but  in  performing  his 
task  he  has  adhered  substantially  to  the  spirit  of  the 
covenant  made  between  him  and  our  Association. '^ 

Naturally  this  action  was  very  gratifying  to  Mr. 
Sanders,  who  as  a  matter  of  fact  had  devoted  many 
months  of  time,  and  had  expended  considerable 
money  in  an  earnest  effort  to  put  upon  its  feet  a 
public  registry  that  should  be  entitled  to  general 
confidence.  He  announced  that  he  would  proceed 
at  once  in  the  preparation  of  a  revised  edition  of  the 
volume  that  had  already  been  issued,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  correcting  any  errors  that  had  crept  into  the 


MID-WEST  PIONEERS  187 

first  edition,  and  also  to  add  to  the  record  the  names 
of  horses  and  mares  that  had  in  the  meantime  be- 
come available  for  registry. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  held  in 
Chicago  on  July  10,  1878,  the  following  additional 
resolutions  were  adopted: 

"Resolved,  That  we  reaffirm  the  resolutions  passed 
by  this  Association  at  Peoria,  in  February  last,  en- 
dorsing the  Stud  Book  prepared  and  published  by 
Mr.  Sanders,  and  respectfully  request  that  he  pro- 
ceed with  the  publication  of  the  revised  edition  at 
his  earliest  convenience. 

"Eesolved,  That  we  assure  the  public  that  Mr. 
Sanders  has  the  hearty  co-operation  of  this  asso- 
ciation in  his  work,  and  that  we  denounce,  as  base 
and  malicious  slanders,  all  representations  to  the 
contrary. ' ' 

Unfortunately,  more  or  less  feeling  had  grown 
out  of  these  extended  discussions  as  to  the  name 
under  which  these  horses  should  be  known  in  the 
United  States,  and  at  a  later  date  the  advocates  of 
the  idea  that  all  heavy  horses  imported  from  France 
should  be  registered  in  one  book  and  under  one  title 
perfected  an  organization  and  began  the  publication 
of  a  second  stud  book  known  as  ''The  National 
French  Draft  Horse  Register."  This  book  had  the 
active  support  of  the  Messrs.  Dillon  and  others 
amonsr  those  who  had  been  earnest  and  successful  in 
promoting  the  interests  of  the  French  horses  in  the 
United  States  during  the  preceding  years. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED. 

Before  proceeding  with  an  account  of  the  great 
expansion  of  Percheron  breeding  in  America  which 
characterized  the  decade  beginning  with  1880  and 
closing  in  1890,  let  ns  return  to  France,  and  take 
note  of  the  further  progress  of  events  in  the  home 
of  the  breed. 

We  have  already  shown  by  copious  extracts  from 
the  national  archives  of  France,  preserved  in  Paris, 
that  beginning  with  about  1815  the  government  ex- 
tended systematic  support  to  the  aspirations  of  the 
breeders  of  Percherons  through  the  medium  of  offi- 
cial inspection  of  stallions  offered  for  service,  and  a 
system  of  subsidies  paid  out  of  the  national  treasury 
to  the  owners  of  the  approved  horses,  besides  pur- 
chasing and  maintaining  at  the  government  stud  at 
Le  Pin  stallions  regarded  as  specially  valuable  for 
service  in  connection  with  the  work  in  hand.  This 
resulted  in  the  establishment  of  a  type  better  suited 
to  agricultural  uses  than  the  ancient  trotting  and 
diligence  stock  for  which  the  district  had  for  so  long 
been  famous. 

Practical  Promotive  Work. — A  royal  ordinance  of 
Dec.  21,  1833,  created  in  France  several  new  govern- 
ment stallion  depots,  and  reorganized  some  of  those 

188 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  189 

that  had  been  in  existence  for  many  years  previously, 
such  as  the  Haras  du  Pin.  As  lias  already  been 
shown,  the  Percheron  breeding  district,  of  which 
Nogent-le-Eotrou  is  the  capital,  had  from  the  earliest 
periods  benefited  by  the  government's  initiative  at 
the  stud  just  mentioned.  Every  year  approved  stal- 
lions from  Le  Pin  were  located  in  the  old  barracks  of 
St.  Denis  at  Nogent,  where  now  stand  the  town  col- 
lege and  court  of  justice. 

In  the  year  1836  a  committee  of  prominent  men, 
including  most  of  the  best  farmers  of  this  district, 
organized  a  committee  for  the  purpose  of  holding 
exhibitions  or  meetings  known  as  comices  in  various 
localities,  for  the  purpose  of  awarding  prizes  to  the 
best  animals  and  incidentally  of  encouraging  agri- 
culture and  good  farming  through  the  continued 
maintenance  and  improvement  of  the  Percheron 
breed.  These  comices  exist  at  the  present  day,  and 
are  held  in  addition  to  the  annual  central  show  main- 
tained under  the  auspices  of  the  Percheron  Society 
of  France. 

In  1836  we  find  that  the  president  of  the  council 
of  Nogent  was  the  Count  of  Bussy,  and  among  the 
members  were  Messrs.  de  Maurissure,  de  Chabot, 
Bailleau,  farmer  at  Brunelles,  Noel  of  La  Messes- 
selle,  Ducoeurjoly  and  Le  Marie  of  Nogent.  Similar 
councils  were  also  established  at  Chartres  and  Chat- 
eaudun.  Some  idea  of  the  magnitude  of  the  horse- 
breeding  operations  in  the  Perche  during  this  per- 
iod may  be  gleaned  from  the  fact  that  an  old  pub- 
lication sets  forth  that  ''the  district  of  Eure-et-Loir 


190  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

delivered  annually  for  the  trade  about  10,000  five- 
year-old  stallions,  selling  at  from  $200  to  $300  each." 

On  March  22,  1841,  the  Duke  of  Montmorency, 
speaking  at  a  meeting  of  the  municipal  council  of 
Chateaudun,  said:  "For  many  years  stock-breed- 
ing societies  of  Switzerland  and  of  different  parts 
of  Germany  and  of  upper  Normandy  have  been  com- 
ing into  the  Perche  to  buy  Percheron  stallions  and 
mares."  This  confirms  once  again  the  claim  that 
the  Perche  has  been  for  generations  recognized  as 
the  home  of  a  distinct  and  valuable  type. 

In  1844  the  general  council  of  Eure-et-Loir  voted 
the  sum  of  $900  to  be  given  by  the  different  com- 
mittees to  the  best  brood  mares,  in  addition  to  the 
sum  that  previously  had  been  awarded.  The  many 
privately-owned  stallions  serving  in  the  district 
were  inspected,  authorized  and  pensioned  by  the  gov- 
ernment officials  according  to  their  merits  in  ac- 
cordance with  an  edict  of  Oct.  27,  1847. 

More  Pre-Stud  Book  Records. — Besuming  now  our 
examination  of  the  official  documents  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  Government  of  France,  at  the  point 
where  the  study  was  temporarily  suspended  in  a  pre- 
ceding chapter  (page  101),  let  us  summarize  briefly 
certain  facts  of  historical  interest  relating  to  the 
pre-stud  book  period. 

The  records,  from  which  we  quote,  supply  the 
names  of  the  leading  stallioners  of  the  Perche  dur- 
ing the  period  when  the  breed  was  "modifying 
itself"  in  the  direction  of  greater  weight.  Such  men 
as  Launay  of  Mauvaisiniere,  Langis  (Orne),  Pelle- 


Charles  'Rene 


THE     FIRST     SECRETARY     OF     THE     PERCHEROX     SOCIETY     OF     FRANCE     (AT 
TOP)    AND   THE   LONG-TERM   HONORAHY   TREASURER. 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  191 

tier,  Corbon  (Orne),  Benoit,  Tontay,  Cottereaii,  Guil- 
laumain,  Dieu,  Monnier,  de  Vasconcelles  Pigeard, 
Marechal,  Graubert  and  their  contemporaries  con- 
tributed largely  to  progress  in  the  direction  of  a 
draft  type.  Several  of  these  were  located  in  the 
Nogent  district  of  Eure-et-Loir.  Due  credit  should 
also  be  given  to  men  among  these  earlier  stallioners 
residing  in  that  part  of  the  Perche  lying  within  the 
Department  of  Loir-et-Cher,  such  as  the  two  Tardi- 
neaus,  Ferrand  and  their  enterprising  colleagues. 
Some  of  these  continued  their  work  in  this  direction 
throughout  a  long  series  of  years.  However,  a  new 
school  gradually  succeeded  them,  carrying  on  the 
development  of  the  race  along  similar  lines,  so  that 
by  the  time  the  great  American  demand  for  still 
heavier  horses  set  in  the  Perche  was  in  a  position 
through  a  very  simple  course  of  selection  in  mating 
to  gradually  evolve  the  ton  horse  of  modern  com- 
merce, and  this  too  without  undue  sacrifice  of  that 
vigor,  soundness  and  quality  which  for  generations 
had  been  characteristic  of  the  lighter  types. 

Bailleau  of  Brunelles,  near  Nogent,  according  to 
the  government  records,  appeared  about  1836  with 
a  draft  horse,  name  not  given.  This  stallion  is  de- 
scribed as  ''gris  pommele,  crins  blanches'' — a  dap- 
pled gray  with  white  mane  and  four  white  markings, 
and  with  "flesh''  or  pink  spots  "between  the  nos- 
trils." He  was  a  good  horse,  first  approved  in 
1836.    It  is  recorded  that  he  served  as  late  as  1845. 

In  1837  we  find  record  of  the  approved  horse 
Grand  Pierre,  owned  by  M.  Geru  of  EchafPour,  Orne. 


1[)2  A    JUtSTOKY    OF    TJIH   PERCUEltON    HORSE 

This  stallion  was  described  as  light  gray,  foaled  in 
the  year  above  mentioned,  and  approved  by  the  gov- 
ernment inspection  of  Nov.  23,  1846.  There  is  rec- 
ord at  the  haras  of  his  having  served  during  the 
seasons  of  1847  and  1848.  He  seems  to  have  been 
displaced  in  1849.  Another  stallion  of  this  same 
period,  also  owned  by  M.  Geru,  was  called  Bijou; 
he  was  a  dappled  gray  of  draft  type,  foaled  in  1839 
and  approved  in  1846.  A  third  stallion  of  M.  Geru 
was  Jupiter,  described  as  'Svhite  gray,  dappled  on 
thighs";  lie  was  foaled  in  1840,  approved  in  1846, 
began  to  serve  under  official  sanction  in  1847,  and 
on  Feb.  1, 1851  was  sold  and  taken  out  of  the  Depart- 
ment of  Orne.  Government  records  also  tell  us  of 
a  dappled  iron-gray  stallion  Sultan,  the  property  of 
M.  Bailleau  of  Brunelles,  that  was  approved  and  in 
service  from  1847  to  1850. 

In  1844  w^e  find  the  names  of  the  two  Percheron 
stallions  Benvenuto  and  Democrate,  both  gray,  in 
service  at  Nogent  from  the  government  stud  at  Le 
Pin.  In  1847  there  is  record  of  5  stallions  serving 
in  the  Nogent  district  under  a  government  subsidy, 
including  a  six-year-old  dapple-gray  owned  by  Count 
de  Chamoy  of  Charbonnieres,  a  five-year-old  iron- 
gray  and  a  six-year-old  gray,  both  owned  by  M. 
Ducoeurjoly,  a  five-year-old  gray  owned  by  M.  Chou- 
anard  of  Champeau,  and  a  five-year-old  gray  which 
was  the  property  of  M.  Bailleau  of  Brunelles. 

In  1849  a  commission  for  the  examination  of  stal- 
lions outside  of  the  agricultural  comice  of  Nogent 
was  composed  as  follows:     M.  De  Tarragon,  presi- 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  193 

dent,  M.  Brissonet  of  Courville,  M.  De  Poutoi,  M. 
Etienne  de  Taiisonville,  M.  Benoit,  and  M.  Joseph 
Chouanard  of  La  Touche.  The  statement  was  made 
by  a  contemporary  writer  that  at  this  date  ''the 
predominant  color  of  the  Percheron  breed  is  gray.'^ 

During  this  same  year  the  local  committee  for  the 
improvement  of  the  Percheron  breed  awarded  the 
following  prizes :  First,  with  700  francs,  to  the  stal- 
lion Collin,  dapple-gray,  owned  by  M.  Ducoeurjoly; 
second,  with  600  francs,  awarded  to  the  light-gray 
Brilliant,  belonging  to  M.  Viron,  Chateaudnn ;  third, 
with  600  francs,  to  Vigonrenx,  a  light-gray  horse 
belonging  to  M.  Coeuret  of  Yevres.  In  1850  the 
same  awarding  committee  gave  prizes  to  the  follow- 
ing stallions :  Papillon,  a  tive-year-old  gray  belong- 
ing to  M.  Sureau  of  St.  Germain;  L'Ami,  a  three- 
year-old  dapple-gray  belonging  to  M.  Chevallier  of 
Dangean;  and  LaFleur,  a  six-year-old  gray  belong- 
ing to  M.  Coueret  of  Yevres. 

M.  Cheradame. — During  an  extended  period  begin- 
ning with  1845  there  was  no  greater  stallioner  and 
breeder  in  the  Perche  than  M.  Cheradame  of  Ecouche 
(Ome).  For  more  than  40  years  he  labored  unceas- 
ingly and  successfully  to  promote  Percheron  pres- 
tige and  progress.  According  to  M.  Desire  Ducoeur- 
joly, to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  valuable  informa- 
tion touching  old-time  breeding  operations  in  the 
Perche,  M.  Cheradame  bred  chiefly  the  light-type 
Percherons — great  trotters  in  their  day.  This  inter- 
esting statement  we  have  been  able  to  confirm  by  ex- 
amination of  the  government  records.    He  also  main- 


194  A    JIlSTOm-    OF   THE   PERCHEKON    HORSE 

tained  a  few  blooded  horses  and  demi-saiigs.  His 
greatest  work,  however,  was  with  his  favorite  Per- 
cheroiis.  Notwithstanding  the  celebrity  of  these  as 
fast  travelers,  it  is  important  to  note  that  while  some 
of  his  approved  stallions  are  described  as  "trait 
leger''  (light  draft),  many  others  were  distinctly 
designated  as  of  ''draff  type. 

It  is  particularly  fortunate  that  we  have  been 
able  to  gather  some  authenticated  facts  concerning 
Cheradame's  work.  While  his  name  and  fame  have 
long  been  the  subject  of  comment  among  later 
French  breeders,  there  has  been  until  now  nothing 
available  as  to  the  actual  material  with  which  he 
worked,  aside  from  one  mere  incidental  reference  by 
M.  Du  Hays,  who  in  eulogizing  Jean-le-Blanc,  of 
wdiich  more  anon,  says:  ''He  was  a  Percheron,  a 
real  Percheron,  like  the  famous  Toulouse  of  M. 
Cheradame,  for  example." 

This  successful  breeder  of  the  olden  days  first 
appears  in  the  government  archives  as  owner  of 
Destampes,  a  dappled  gray,  described  as  "de  car- 
osse'^ — coach  horse,  probably  of  the  post  or  dili- 
gence stamp.  This  stallion  was  foaled  in  1839  and 
was  approved  for  service  during  the  seasons  of 
1845,  1846  and  1847. 

Toulouse,  *'The  Magnificent." — As  will  presently 
appear,  the  founders  of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of 
France,  following  the  lead  of  M.  Du  Hays,  singled 
out  for  special  mention  alone  among  all  the  great 
stallions  of  the  district  that  gave  rise  to  the  modern 
Percheron  a  horse  called  Jean-le-Blanc,  claimed  to 


LA  ROUSTIERE — RESIDEXCE  OF  MAL'KICE  CHOUAXARD,  AND  IN  POSSES- 
SION OF  THE  CHOUANARD  FAMILY  FOR  UPWARDS  OF  TWO  CEN- 
TURIES. THE  FAMOUS  STALLION  KNOWN  AS  OLD  COCO  WAS  BRED 
ON    THIS    FARM. 


L'ARCHE FARM     AND 


RESIDENCE     OF     ERNEST     PERRIOT,     JR.,     NEAR 
LA    FERTE    BERNARD, 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  195 

be  a  direct  descendant  of  the  erstwhile  ''Arab''  Gal- 
lipoly.  As  has  just  been  stated,  in  placing  Jean-le- 
Blanc  upon  this  pedestal  Du  Hays  took  cognizance 
of  the  existence  of  another  "true"  Percheron,  "le 
fameux  Toulouse  de  M.  Cheradame,  par  example," 
Except  for  this  laconic  reference  nothing,  so  far  as 
we  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  has  been  published 
concerning  this  horse.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
register  him  in  the  initial  volume  of  the  Stud  Book 
of  France,  for  the  very  good  reason,  we  suppose, 
that  no  facts  concerning  him,  not  even  legends,  as  in 
the  case  of  Jean-le-Blanc,  were  at  hand.  And  yet 
at  that  very  time  the  truth  was  lying  all  untouched 
in  the  archives  of  the  French  Goverament.  The 
facts  now  to  be  presented,  therefore,  will  prove  of 
absorbing  interest  to  all  students  of  Percheron  his- 
tory. 

Toulouse  is  tirst  mentioned  (No.  162  in  the  Haras 
register  at  Le  Pin)  in  an  entry  dated  Nov.  30,  1847, 
at  which  time  he  was  officially  approved.  This 
entry  states  that  he  was  foaled  in  1839,  so  that  it  is 
reasonably  certain  that  he  had  already  seen  service 
before  being  pensioned  or  subsidized  by  the  govern- 
ment. He  is  described  as  "de  trait"  (draft),  color 
"gris  blanc"  (light  gray),  with  "flesh  spots  at  the 
end  of  the  nose."  He  began  his  service  as  a  govern- 
ment-approved stallion  in  the  spring  of  1848.  He 
served  during  this  season  60  mares,  siring  42  liv- 
ing foals  and  receiving  a  bonus  of  200  francs.     In 

1849  he  served  58  mares  with  36  foals  resulting.    In 

1850  he  had  40  mares  that  produced  30  foals,  and  in 

1851  he  served  44  mares. 


19G  A  lilSTOKY-  OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

In  the  space  reserved  for  "observations"  in  tliis 
original  entry  no  particulars  as  to  the  breeding  of 
Toulouse  are  given,  but  in  1853  we  find  him  men- 
tioned as  a  son  of  Sandy,  whose  breeding  is  not 
given,  out  of  "an  unknown  Percheron  mare."  His 
height  is  here  given  as  a  little  over  16  hands. 
Farther  along  we  find  that  in  1859 — although  he 
was  then,  it  will  be  observed,  20  years  old — he  was 
still  receiving  his  subsidy.  Not  only  that,  but  it  is 
particularly  to  be  impressed  at  this  point  that 
whereas  the  custom  of  entering  "remarks"  con- 
cerning these  approved  stallions  had  been  for  some 
years  discontinued  we  find  this  extraordinary  spe- 
cial tribute  to  this  veteran  of  two  decades: 

"April  2,  1859 — Toulouse  est  arrive  a  la  decrepi- 
tude. C'etait  un  magnifique  etalon  de  trait.  Bien 
difficile  a  remplacer.  Je  demande  qu'il  ne  soit  plus 
approve  en  1860." 

That  is  to  say:  "Toulouse  is  getting  worn  out. 
He  was  a  magnificent  draft  stallion.  Very  difficult 
to  replace  him.  I  recommend  that  he  should  not  be 
approved  for  1860." 

Toulouse,  "the  magnificent,"  was  now  going  the 
way  of  all  flesh  as  no  longer  useful  in  the  stud  at 
the  ripe  old  age  of  twenty  years.  Although  appar- 
ently the  greatest  horse  of  his  era  in  the  Perche,  so 
far  as  authentic  records  go,  his  very  existence  was 
scarcely  a  tradition  as  late  as  1883,  the  date  of  the 
founding  of  the  stud  book!  Truly,  once  again  let 
us  reiterate,  French  breeders  were  at  all  times  more 
concerned  in  makino:  historv  than  in  writing  it. 


,  Desire'BucoGurJolL/  J  JL  [    Ansbert  Feuillard 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  197 

Immediately  underneath  the  splendid  isolated 
testimonial  upon  the  government  record  is  this  addi- 
tional entry:  "1860 — he  has  not  gone  yet;  approved 
for  1860." 

In  spite  of  the  inspector's  reluctant  recommenda- 
tion of  the  year  before  the  great  stallion  is  given 
another  year  at  stud!  With  this  the  record  ends. 
To  have  been  singled  out  for  this  almost  extrava- 
gant commendation  at  a  time  when  " remarks''  were 
no  longer  the  rule  in  the  records  is  of  course  proof 
positive  of  the  altogether  exceptional  character  of 
this  horse.  He  was  9  years  old  when  first  pensioned, 
and  was  used  13  j^ears  as  an  approved  sire.  It  is 
probable,  therefore,  that  this  stallion  served  in  his 
time  as  many  as  a  thousand  mares.  Light-gray  at 
an  early  age,  old  Toulouse  in  his  later  years  would 
have  been  white  as  snow.  Let  us  be  glad  of  this 
opportunity  to  do  tardy  justice  to  a  horse  that  was 
so  honored  officially  in  his  own  day  and  generation. 
It  is  to  be  regretted  that  we  cannot  do  as  much  for 
Jean-le-Blanc.  Indeed  were  it  not  for  the  apparent 
discrepancy  in  their  ages,  one  might  even  suggest 
the  possibility  that  in  Toulouse  we  have  the  real 
Jean-le-Blanc.  But  as  to  this  one  may  only  specu- 
late. It  is  indeed  to  be  regretted  that  owing  to  the 
tardy  establishment  of  registration  facilities  we 
cannot  at  this  date  supply  the  links  in  the  chain 
that  would  undoubtedly  connect  up  many  a  present 
day  Percheron  horse  with  Toulouse,  ''the  magnifi- 
cent. ' ' 

Chocolat. — Another    great    horse    owned    by    M. 


11)8  A   IIISTOKY    OF   THE   PERCHEKON    HORSE 

Clieradame  at  a  later  date  was  called  Cliocolat.  It 
appears  from  the  records  that  he  was  ''de  trait" 
(of  the  draft  type),  gray,  and  stood  about  16 
hands  1%  inches  high.  He  was  foaled  in  1864,  was 
approved  at  6  years  old,  and  like  Toulouse  was 
kept  in  service  until  his  twentieth  year,  in  1884. 
This  long  period  of  approval  in  the  stud  is  convinc- 
ing evidence  of  Chocolat's  superior  character  and 
value  as  a  sire.  His  pension  from  1880  to  1884  in- 
clusive seems  to  have  been  300  francs. 

Another  draft  stallion  owned  by  M.  Clieradame, 
and  in  use  about  1860,  was  named  Carnaval.  There 
is  also  record  of  a  Clieradame  horse  called  Bon  Es- 
poir,  a  gray  foaled  in  1855,  and  another  named 
Double,  the  latter  described  as  'Hrait  leger"  (light 
drafter),  a  gray  standing  16  hands  that  served  as 
an  approved  sire  from  1880  to  1884  inclusive.  Still 
another  under  the  same  ownership  was  Lilas,  also 
a  light  drafter,  gray  and  15.3  hands  in  stature. 
Lilas  served  from  1880  to  1883  inclusive. 

The  Ducoeurjolys. — Contemporaneous  with  Bail- 
leau  and  the  early  work  of  Clieradame  we  find 
Ducoeurjoly  (Jacques  Francois)  of  Coudreau,  dis- 
trict of  Nogent,  beginning  as  an  owner  of  approved 
stallions  .with  Collin,  a  celebrated  horse  already  men- 
tioned. Collin  was  a  little  over  16  hands  high  and 
was  described  as  *'an  iron  gray  (gris  de  fer  pom- 
mele)  draft  horse  with  two  white  feet,  born  in 
1842  and  approved  Nov.  23,  1846."  This  horse 
served  as  an  approved  stallion  for  4  years  from 
1847  to  1850  inclusive.     Another  horse,  unnamed. 


LA  PEXLOIS — BREEDING  FARM  OF  A.  TACHEAU,  NEAR  LA  FERTE  BERNARD, 


FARM   OF   M.    JOS.    AVELINE.    DORCEAU. 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  199 

belonging  to  M.  Ducoeurjoly,  foaled  in  1841  and 
approved  Nov.  23,  1846,  served  2  years. 

The  Ducoeurjolys  always  have  been  highly  es- 
teemed as  good  breeders  and  keen  judges  of  animal 
form.  However,  they  have  never  gone  into  the  busi- 
ness so  extensively  as  their  aptitudes  and  knowl- 
edge of  Percheron  breeding  would  warrant,  simply 
because  they  always  have  adhered  to  their  vocation 
as  ^'cultivators'^ — farmers  as  well  as  breeders. 
Speculative  dealing  in  colts  has  never  attracted 
them.  They  have  preferred  to  breed  some  of  the 
very  best,  till  their  land  and  sell  simply  their  own 
surplus  animals.  This  is  one  of  the  few  farms  in 
the  Perche  where  a  good-sized  flock  of  sheep  has 
been  profitably  kept.  We  find  several  of  the 
Ducoeurjoly  horses  mentioned  as  approved  stallions 
in  the  early  days  and  the  celebrated  old  prize-win- 
ning mare  Pauline  (279)  was  their  property.  She 
was  foaled  in  1869  and  won  12  prizes  at  the  leading 
shows  at  different  periods.  The  present  Desire 
Ducoeurjoly  has  attained  high  reputation  both  with 
mares  and  stallions. 

Pelletier. — Another  stallioner  of  importance  in  the 
ante-stud  book  days  was  Theodore  Pelletier,  prob- 
ably related  to  the  other  Pelletier  mentioned  in  our 
earlier  chapters.  He  lived  at  St.  Julien-sur-Sarthe, 
Orne.  This  locality  is  a  great  mare  country  at  the 
present  date. 

Credited  to  Pelletier  we  find  Colin,  ''son  of  Colin 
and  out  of  an  unnamed  Percheron  mare.''  The  sire 
Colin  was  probably  the  Collin  or  Colin  of  Ducoeur- 


200  A    JIISTOKY    OF   THE   PERClIEliON    HORSE 

joly.  This  liorso  was  described  as  a  ^' draft  stallion 
of  very  good  model;  a  good  breeder,  an  impressive 
sire  that  begets  excellent  post  horses;  many  of  his 
male  colts  have  been  exported/'  He  served  from 
1859  to  1862 — 4  years.  The  first  2  years  his  pen- 
sion was  300  francs,  and  the  2  latter  years  it  was 
400  francs.  Pelletier  owned  another  horse  named 
Vulcain  about  the  same  period.  He  also  had  Nogent, 
a  16.1-liand  gray  that  served  during  1863  and  1864. 

After  the  death  of  M.  Theodore  Pelletier  we  find 
a  ''light  draft  stallion,  gray,  16  hands,"  entered  as 
the  property  of  ''Widow  Pelletier,"  St.  Julien-sur- 
Sartlie.    This  horse  began  serving  in  1880. 

Moisand. — About  this  time  also  we  hear  of  Moi- 
sand,  "Director  of  the  Societe  Hippique  Percher- 
onne,"  Chateaudun,  Eure-et-Loire.  From  his  town 
and  district,  a  great  grain-growing  region,  formerly 
came  many  Percheron  horses,  but  since  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  French  stud  book  foals  born  in  the  dis- 
trict are  not  eligible  for  entry.  Judging  from  the 
pensions  awarded  to  M.  Moisand  he  owned  many 
good  stallions.  Mina,  a  black-gray,  nearly  17  hands 
high,  foaled  in  1858,  served  from  1862  to  1868;  his 
pension,  beginning  at  500  francs,  was  raised  to  650 
francs.  Moisand  also  had  Coco,  16  hands  high,  a 
black-gray  that  served  from  1862  to  1864.  Another 
stallion  of  Moisand  called  Priape,  served  during  the 
same  period  and  was  also  a  dark-gray.  Moisand 
also  had  a  horse  called  Pamphile,  dappled  gray, 
that  served  from  1863  to  1869,  and  another  named 
Sandy,  foaled  1856,  that  served  during  1866  and 


THE  FRENCH   STORY   RESUMED  201 

1867.  Still  another  of  his  approved  stallions  was 
named  Porthos. 

Jousset  and  Mitau. — Beginning  about  1870  we 
find  that  a  certain  Jousset,  commune  of  Colimer,  dis- 
trict of  Mortagne,  had  several  approved  horses. 
M.  Mitau  of  Essay,  district  of  Alengon,  had  2  ap- 
proved stallions  during  the  same  period.  Jousset 
had  Briliant,  described  as  "light  draft"  and  16 
hands  high,  that  served  from  1880  to  1883.  Mitau 
was  still  active  in  the  business  as  late  as  1890,  at 
which  date  he  owned  the  approved  stallion  Volta. 

Old  Records  Brought  to  Light. — In  1851  we  find 
trace  of  a  six-year-old  dapple-gray  stallion  named 
Henri,  which  was  in  stud  around  Mortagne,  and 
others  as  follows:  Decembis,  7  years  old,  in  serv- 
ice at  Illiers;  Bayard,  '' red-gray, ' '  4  years  old,  at 
Mortagne;  Chappelain,  light-gray,  7  years  old,  at 
Courtalain;  Mi  Careme,  dapple-gray,  6  years  old, 
at  Montdoubleau;  Collin,  dapple-gray,  8  years  old 
at  Nogent.  At  this  same  time  there  were  also  in 
stud  at  Nogent  the  following:  Bienvenu,  dapple- 
gray,  6  years  old ;  Nell,  dark-gray,  6  years  old ;  Cour- 
ville,  iron-gray,  4  years  old;  Laigie,  dapple-gray,  4 
years  old;  Collin,  dapple-gray,  4  years  old;  Illiers, 
dapple-gray,  5  years  old. 

In  1852  we  find  the  names  of  two  more  govern- 
ment stallions  in  service  in  the  district  of  Nogent; 
Chartres,  dapple-gray,  7  years  old,  and  Voniche, 
dapple-gray,  7  years  old.  In  1854  the  stallions  depot 
of  Nogent  was  dependent  upon  the  stallion  depot  of 
Blois  (Loir  et  Cher)  instead  of  Le  Pin  (Orne).    On 


202  A   HISTORY    OF   THE   PERCIIERON   HORSE 

tlie  17 til  of  November,  1854,  the  council  general  of 
Eure-et-Loir  voted  a  sum  of  $2,000  to  be  given  for 
more  sliows  to  be  held  and  offered  premiums  for 
best  stallions  and  mares.  The  prizes  for  mares 
ranged  from  $80  up  to  $160,  and  a  stallion  could 
attain  up  to  $400.  The  stallion  show  was  to  be  held 
at  Illiers,  and  the  mare  sliows  at  Illiers,  Courtalain 
and  Nogent-le-Rotrou.  The  stallion  show  was  held 
at  Illiers  on  the  18tli  of  November,  1855,  and  pre- 
miums were  awarded  as  follows:  First  to  Colin, 
belonging  to  M.  Dorchene  of  Nogent;  second  to 
Charbonnieres,  belonging  to  Count  of  Chamoy ;  third 
to  Laigle,  belonging  to  Duke  de  Montmorency; 
fourth  to  General,  belonging  to  Madame  Chevallier 
of  Dangeau.  Three  other  stallions  were  given  prizes: 
Papillon,  dapple-gray,  6  years  old,  belonging  to  M. 
Pangoue  of  Cloyes;  LaBelle,  dapple-gray,  9  years 
old,  belonging  to  M.  Loride  of  Bonneval,  and  Colin, 
white,  15  years  old,  belonging  to  M.  Penelle  of  Cour- 
talain. 

In  1856  the  stallion  depot  of  Blois  sent  to  the 
Nogent  station  of  stallions  a  horse  named  Bavard. 
In  1857  there  was  sent  from  the  same  depot  the  stal- 
lions Nelle  and  Ramon. 

A  mare  show  was  held  at  Courtalain  on  the  8th 
of  June,  1857,  in  which  2,200  francs  were  given  to 
the  best  brood  mares.  The  first  premium  with  800 
francs  cash  was  given  to  Cocotte,  a  dapple-gray  7 
years  old  owned  by  M.  Roger  of  St.  Pellerin.  On  the 
12tli  of  July,  1857,  a  big  mare  show  was  held  at 
Nogent-le-Rotrou.  It  is  interesting  to  note  the  names 


LA    PLESSIS— FARM    OF    A.    CHAPPELS. 


LA    BOURDONNIERE,    FARM    OF    M.    TIIIBAULT. 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  203 

of  tlie  farmers  who  then  kept  the  best  brood  mares 
in  that  district.  The  premiums  were  awarded  as 
follows :  First  to  Cocotte,  belonging  to  M.  Ducoeur- 
joly  of  Brnnelles;  second  to  Pelotte,  belonging  to 
Nicolas  Glon  of  Sonance;  third  to  L'Hermine,  be- 
longing to  Dnrand  of  Sonance;  fonrth  to  Margot, 
belonging  to  Jean  Glon  near  Nogent ;  fifth  to  Vigour- 
enx,  belonging  to  Bailleau  of  Illiers;  sixth  to  Eos- 
alie,  belonging  to  Gnillot,  La  Gaudaine;  seventh  to 
Rnstiqne,  belonging  to  Bouillon  of  Nogent. 

A  worthy  gentleman,  the  Count  de  Chamoy,  was 
keeping  at  this  time  a  big  stud  at  his  farm  of  Char- 
bonnieres  near  Authon,  about  15  miles  from  Nogent. 
He  did  great  good  in  his  neighborhood ;  he  kept  high- 
class  stallions,  among  the  most  celebrated  being 
Charbonnieros,  Eure-et-Loir  and  Decide.  Charbon- 
nieres  was  foaled  at  Charbonnieres  in  1851  and  was 
out  of  Neel,  by  Dagobert,  dam  La  Meuniere. 

A  stallion  show  was  held  at  Illiers  on  the  16tli  of 
November,  1857.  Of  30  stallions  shown  5  were  given 
premiums  and  8  were  approved  as  follows:  First 
premium  with  1,400  francs  to  Sandy,  belonging  to 
M.  Lahaye  of  Chateaudun;  second  to  Pierrot,  be- 
longing to  Count  de  Chamoy;  third  to  Colin,  belong- 
ing to  M.  Dorchene  of  Nogent;  fourth  to  Charbon- 
nieres, belonging  to  Count  de  Chamoy;  fifth  to  Bibi, 
belonging  to  M.  Lahaye.  The  stallions  approved 
were:  Decide,  belonging  to  Count  de  Chamoy; 
Lamy,  belonging  to  M.  Maillard;  Ebene,  belonging 
to  H.  de  Chabot;  Pierrot,  belonging  to  Mme.  Sauton; 
General,  belonging  to  Mme.  Chevallier;  Lamy,  be- 


204:  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

longing  to  M.  Baret;  La  Poule,  belonging  to  M. 
Sedillot,  and  La  Bielie,  belonging  to  M.  Gatineau 
of  Beaufrancois. 

Li  1858  the  imperial  depot  of  stallions  of  Le  Pin, 
to  which  the  district  of  Nogent  had  now  been  joined, 
again  sent  to  the  station  of  Nogent  for  the  1858 
stud  the  stallions  Mortagne,  Pionnier  and  Pausanias. 
On  the  18tli  of  July,  1858,  a  big  mare  show  was  held 
at  Nogent-le-Eotrou,  and  we  find  the  following 
awards : 

First  premium  with  600  francs  to  Eobine,  belong- 
ing to  M.  Ducoeurjoly  of  Condreceau;  second  pre- 
mium with  500  francs  to  Georgette,  belonging  to  M. 
Ducoeurjoly  of  Brunelles;  third  premium  with  500 
francs  to  Belly,  belonging  to  Count  de  Chamoy; 
fourth  premium  with  400  francs  to  Sophie,  belong- 
ing to  Guibert  de  Souance;  fifth  premium  with  400 
francs  to  La  Grise,  belonging  to  Glon  de  Etilleux; 
sixth  premium  to  Pelotte  belonging  to  Richardeau 
de  Souance;  seventh  premium  to  Belotte,  belonging 
to  Lesieur  of  Souance;  eighth  premium  to  Chaton, 
belonging  to  Dordoigne  of  Brunelles ;  ninth  premium 
to  Sophie,  belonging  to  Count  de  Chamoy. 

In  the  same  year  we  find  in  the  old  records  the 
names  of  these  celebrated  stallions:  Collin,  belong- 
ing to  M.  Dorchene;  Agricole,  belonging  to  M. 
Enault;  Sandy,  belonging  to  M.  Pelletier;  Vaillant, 
belong  to  M.  Lenfant,  and  Voltaire,  belonging  to  M. 
Perpere. 

In  May,  1858,  there  was  a  show  at  Alengon  (Ome). 
In  the  awards  we  find  tlie  names  of  the  following 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  205 

stallions:  Ebene,  7  years  old,  property  of  Count 
de  Chanioy;  Cliarbonnieres,  7  years  old,  jjroperty  of 
Count  de  Cliamoy;  Couronne,  5  years  old,  property 
of  Louis  Cliouanard  of  Margon;  Lafleur,  3  years  old, 
property  of  Desvaux  of  Courville ;  Colin,  6  years  old, 
property  of  M.  Dorcliene  of  La  Gaudaine;  Beau- 
francois,  6  years  old,  property  of  M.  Gatineau,  and 
Sandie,  4  years  old,  property  of  M.  Laliaye  of  Cha- 
teaudun. 

In  the  mare  class  at  same  show  were:  Albertine, 
4  years  old,  Seduisante,  6  years  old,  Brillante,  6 
years  old,  and  Grisette,  4  years  old,  all  belonging 
to  M.  Joseph  Cliouanard  of  La  Touche;  Cocotte,  6 
years  old,  and  L'Amie,  7  years  old,  belonging  to  M. 
Ducoeurjoly  of  Brunelles;  and  Mina,  3  years  old, 
owned  by  M.  Gannier  of  Beaumont  les  Autels. 

Another  big  show  was  held  at  Alencon  in  1865. 
M.  Cheradame  of  Ecouche  had  an  extra  30-month- 
old  gray  colt  named  Lacour  by  Bon  Espoir.  He 
had  also  Picador,  a  splendid  gray,  and  Carnaval. 
M.  Guillemin  of  Coudray,  near  Nogent,  won  first 
prize  in  the  brood  mare  class.  Second  prize  was 
awarded  to  M.  Vaux  of  St.  Quentin  de  Blavon 
(Orne).  M.  Miteau  of  Aunay  les  Bois  was  third. 
M.  Guillemin 's  mare  also  won  the  colors  at  the  Uni- 
versal Exhibition  of  Paris  (1867). 

In  1865  we  find  in  old  records  the  names  of  many 
of  the  breeders  living  at  that  time.  In  the  district 
of  Mortagne  were  Messrs.  Guimond,  Caget,  Bignon, 
Provot,  Pelletier,  Chantepie,  Desclos,  Vallee,  Olivier, 
Dujarrier,  Vade,  Vaux,  Perpere  and  Fromentin.    In 


206  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  district  of  Belleme  were  Messrs.  Jamois,  Cha- 
pelle,  Segouin  and  Morin.  In  the  district  of  Le 
Theil  were  Messrs.  Bajon,  Therin  and  Count  de  St. 
Pol.  In  the  district  of  Regmalard  were  Messrs.  Far- 
douet,  Debray,  Charpentier  and  Aveline.  M.  Simon 
had  his  stud  station  at  ;St.  ,Lambert  near  Trun 
(Orne),  and  had  owned  the  celebrated  stallions 
Dagobert  and  Farmer. 

In  1865  also  we  find  the  following  names  of 
breeders  in  the  Nogent  district:  Messrs.  Adolphe 
Chouanard  of  La  Touche,  Le  Marie,  Louis  Chou- 
anard  of  Champeau,  Gasselin,  Dorchene,  Glon, 
Neveu,  Ducoeurjoly,  Dordoigne,  Vade,  Guillemin, 
Gaulard,  Count  de  Bezenvah,  Gannier. 

To  finish  with  the  old  records  let  us  mention  a 
show  which  was  held  at  Chartres  from  the  1st  to 
the  9th  of  May,  1869.  In  the  three-year-old  class 
we  find  the  names  of  the  following  stallions:  In- 
trouvable,  belonging  to  M.  Lallouet;  Beaufrancois, 
belonging  to  M.  Gatineau;  Cheri,  belonging  to  M. 
Fardouet;  Mylord,  belonging  to  M.  Moisant;  Mon- 
arque,  belonging  to  M.  Caget;  Roland,  belonging  to 
M.  Moisant;  Cheri,  belonging  to  M.  Caget;  Coco, 
belonging  to  M.  Vinault;  Chouanard,  belonging  to 
M.  Desclos;  Coquet,  belonging  to  M.  Maillard;  Paul, 
belonging  to  M.  Fardouet;  Jean  Bart,  belonging  to 
M.  Perpere;  Vulcain,  belonging  to  M.  Pelletier,  and 
Lacour,  belonging  to  M.  Cheradame. 

Fardouet  and  Caget. — While  these  records  could 
be  multiplied,  it  scarcely  seems  necessary  to  pro- 
long details  of  this  character  indefinitely.    The  point 


LE    BOIS    JOLY,    FABM    OF    THE    LATE    M.     FAKDOUET,    FIRST    PRESIDENT    OF 
THE   PERCHERON    SOCIETY    OF   FRANCE. 


LA  GRAND   CHAMPROND,   FARM  OF  L.   MOULIN. 


THE  FRENCH   STORY   RESUMED  207 

to  be  established  is  that  prior  to  tlie  foiiiidiiig"  of  the 
stud  book  the  same  persistent  government-super- 
vised work  in  the  interest  of  preserving  Percheron 
integrity,  as  related  in  preceding  chapters,  was  con- 
tinuous, even  though  no  published  pedigree  record 
was  maintained.  At  this  point,  therefore,  we  shall 
only  record  further  the  fact  that  two  of  Chera- 
dame's  greatest  contemporaries  and  successors  in 
developing  Percheron  character  were  MM.  Fardouet 
and  Caget,  both  of  whom  left  a  legacy  of  inestimable 
value  to  France  and  America  as  a  result  of  their 
labors.  Here  again  we  are  able  to  supply  govern- 
ment data,  until  now  not  appearing  in  published 
records. 

Michel  Fardouet. — M.  Fardouet 's  farm  of  La  Beu- 
vriere  was  situated  in  the  commune  of  Verrieres  in 
the  department  of  Orne.  His  first  approved  stallion 
was  Madere,  foaled  in  1862.  This  horse  served  as  a 
pensioned  stallion,  and  had  notable  place  in  the  Per- 
cheron annals  of  his  time  for  several  reasons.  In 
the  first  place,  he  was  a  big  horse  standing  17  hands. 
In  the  second  place,  he  was  black.  And  most  im- 
portant of  all,  he  served  as  a  subsidized  stallion  in 
the  Perche  for  a  period  of  14  years,  from  1867  to 
1879  inclusive.  Here,  therefore,  is  one  prolific 
source  of  size  and  of  the  color  that  subsequently 
became  for  a  time  so  popular  in  America. 

Another  good  Fardouet  stallion  of  this  era  was 
the  gray  Bon  Espoir,  foaled  in  1862.  He  had  gov- 
ernment endorsement,  as  did  also  Bayard,  a  stallion 
that  rendered  good  service  during  1873  and  1874. 


208  A   HISTORY   OF   THE    PERCHERON   HORSE 

111  1879  M.  Fardouet  had  Vermouth  2d,  a  big,  good 
gray  that  served  during  that  season  98  mares.  M. 
Fardouet  ^s  later  breeding  operations  may  be  studied 
from  the  French  and  American  stud  books.  He  be- 
came the  first  president  of  the  Percheron  Society 
of  France,  and  it  should  be  borne  in  mind,  as  illus- 
trating the  high  quality  of  his  stock,  that  the  cele- 
brated stallion  Vidocq  483  (732),  imported  by  M. 
W.  Dunham  in  1874,  was  for  several  years  at  the 
head  of  the  stud  at  La  Beuvriere.  As  to  the  type 
of  the  Fardouet  stock  it  may  be  said  that  the  horses 
were  perhaps  not  so  heavy-boned  as  those  to  be 
found  elsewhere,  but  they  were  usually  distinguished 
for  their  fine  finish  and  good  action. 

During  his  long  and  honorable  career  no  man  had 
more  approved  or  pensioned  stallions  than  Michel 
Fardouet,  who  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Alphonse 
of  Le  Bois'  Joly,  near  Nogent. 

Celestin  Caget. — Clearly  one  of  the  ranking  breed- 
ers of  his  time  in  the  Perche  was  M.  Celestin  Caget. 
He  had  two  properties,  one  at  Medavy  in  the  Mor- 
tagne  district  of  Orne  and  another  at  St.  Scolasse 
in  the  district  of  Alencon. 

In  1870  Caget  had  3  approved  stallions,  at  least 
one  of  which,  the  famous  old  Selim  (749),  bred  in 
Orne  and  foaled  in  1866,  was  one  of  the  best  horses 
of  his  day.  The  official  record  reads:  '' Selim,  fine 
draft  horse,  great  depth  of  chest,  good  in  shoulders, 
good  loins,  fine  action."  Again  in  1872  Selim  is 
referred  to  as  '^a  good  Percheron,  well  built,  near 
the  ground."    This  horse  was  in  service  for  8  years 


M .  Caget      ^  ^  [^  Eugene  Le marie 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  209 

as  a  pensioned  stock-getter.  In  1885  M.  Caget  had 
6  approved  stallions,  including  the  noted  Romulus, 
dappled  gray,  about  16  hands  high,  afterwards  sold 
to  Mr.  Dunham;  Vautour,  light  gray,  16  hands  high; 
Cheri,  dappled  gray,  16  hands  high:  and  Madere, 
Voltaire  and  Picador,  all  grays.  In  1887  Caget  had 
4  stallions  pensioned — Porthos,  Eveille,  Cheri  and 
Madere. 

Contemporaneously,  in  part,  with  the  work  of 
Caget  pere  is  that  of  his  son,  Modeste  Caget.  The 
records  show  that  pensioned  stallions  were  owned 
by  father  and  son  throughout  a  period  of  full  30 
years.  M.  DeLange  of  Almeneches,  Ome,  a  son-in- 
law  of  the  elder  Caget,  was  also  a  stallioner  of  good 
repute. 

The  Chouanards  and  La  Touche. — The  beautiful 
farm  belonging  to  the  late  and  much-regretted 
Charles  Aveline,  the  farm  of  LaTouche  near  Nogent, 
has  been  for  nearly  a  century  the  residence  of  the 
Chouanard  family.  M.  Charles  Aveline  leased  the 
farm  in  1894,  and  bought  it  some  years  later.  From 
the  year  1820  to  the  year  1894  the  Chouanards,  at 
least  one  branch  of  the  family,  lived  there.  The 
family  was  numerous,  and  its  members  hold  a  prom- 
inent place  in  Percheron  history.  In  fact,  the  name 
is  still  in  evidence  today,  Emile  Chouanard,  Jules 
Chouanard,  Charles  Chouanard  and  Paul  Chouanard 
still  maintaining  the  reputation  of  their  ancestors. 
To  M.  Paul  Chouanard  we  acknowledge  our  indebt- 
edness for  some  of  the  interesting  facts  herein 
chronicled. 


210  A  HISTORY   OF  THE   PERCHERON  HORSE 

The  Chouanard  family  originally  came  from  the 
west  of  France,  from  Cliolet,  in  the  department  of 
Maine-et-Loire.  The  first  of  the  name  of  which  we 
have  record  were  cattle  dealers  and  used  to  sell  at 
the  Paris  cattle  market,  then  at  Poissy.  This  was 
long  before  the  railways,  and  they  sent  their  cattle 
by  the  road  on  foot  to  market.  Their  way  was 
through  the  Perche,  from  Cholet  to  Paris,  and  dur- 
ing their  numerous  trips  through  the  district  they 
were  attracted  by  the  surroundings,  and  decided  to 
settle  there.  We  find  trace  of  a  Chouanard  (Joseph 
Rene),  born  in  1767,  who  died  in  the  Perche  in  1815, 
at  Bretoncelles,  about  12  miles  from  Nogent,  where 
he  had  a  farm.  He  left  many  children,  and  his  first 
two  sons  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Chouanards  of 
today.  One  of  his  sons,  Louis  Chouanard,  resided  at 
the  farm  of  Champeau  near  Nogent,  and  was  the 
owner  of  some  celebrated  stallions.  His  brother, 
Joseph  Chouanard,  was  the  first  Chouanard  to  live 
at  La  Touclie.  He  leased  the  farm  in  the  year  1820, 
and  was  known  as  Chouanard  de  la  Touclie,  as  his 
brother  Louis  was  known  as  Chouanard  of  Cham- 
peau. 

Joseph  Chouanard  was  a  man  of  strong  charac- 
ter and  good  judgment.  He  was  universally  es- 
teemed, and  was  considered  one  of  the  highest  au- 
thorities of  his  day  on  horse  breeding.  In  fact,  he 
was  often  called  to  judge  at  shows  or  to  act  as  ref- 
eree. He  probably  was  the  greatest  mare  man  of 
his  time  in  the  Perche.  He  had  a  long  career,  quit- 
ting the  farm  in  1863  and  retiring  to  Nogent,  where 


[  JtUurke  Chouanard] ^  [  Chdrlcs Chouanard 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  211 

he  died  in  1876.  His  son,  Adolplie  Chonanard,  suc- 
ceeded him  at  La  Touche  in  1863. 

Adolphe  Chouanard  was  a  mare  man  also  and 
did  an  extensive  business,  especially  with  the  Paris 
trade.  When  the  first  American  buyers  came, 
Adolphe  Chouanard  adapted  his  trade  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  importers  and  La  Touche  was  sup- 
plied with  stock  of  all  ages  to  suit  the  demand. 
Adolphe  Chouanard  did  a  large  business  with  the 
first  American  importers.  At  the  first  show  held 
by  the  Percheron  society  at  Nogent  in  May,  1884,  he 
won  first  prize  with  the  famous  mare  Degourdie 
(2346)  and  sold  her  for  $2,300  to  George  E.  Case 
of  Minnesota.  This  was  a  great  mare,  quite  white 
at  5  years  old,  with  a  wonderful  body,  great  bone, 
and  a  very  long  arched  neck.  In  the  years  1886 
and  1887  Adolphe  Chouanard  had  more  than  130 
Percherons  of  all  ages  on  hand,  so  that  La  Touche 
was  one  of  the  headquarters  for  the  American  trade, 
ranking  in  this  respect  with  the  great  farms  of 
August  Tacheau,  Sr.,  and  of  Colas  of  Beaulieu,  other 
leaders  of  their  time. 

After  the  panic  of  the  early  '90 's  Adolphe  Chou- 
anard left  La  Touche,  and  in  1894  the  farm  changed 
hands,  soon  afterwards  becoming  the  property  of 
Charles  Aveline. 

The  Perriots. — The  records  of  Percheron  progress 
in  modem  days  in  France  hold  no  name  wholly  com- 
parable with  that  of  Perriot.  Although  this  fact  is 
largely  due  to  the  extraordinary  achievements  of 
the  brothers  Louis,  Ernest  and  Albert,  and  Louis' 


212  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

son  Edmond,  their  forbears  were  recognized  as 
among  the  foremost  breeders  of  the  Perche.  Per- 
riot  pere  was  born  in  1810,  and  died  in  1874. 

At  the  time  when  the  great  American  demand 
first  set  in  prior  to  1880  the  three  brothers,  known 
as  Perriot  d'Amilly,  Perriot  de  Cheneliere  and  Per- 
riot  de  Champeau,  were  comparatively  young  men, 
and  while  all  were  recognized  as  close  judges  of  a 
good  horse,  Mark  W.  Dunham  was  wont  to  credit 
the  younger  brother  Albert  with  being  the  shrewd- 
est of  the  three.  He  often  put  it  like  this:  ''When- 
ever they  went  out  together  picking  up  colts  it 
would  inevitably  be  found  when  they  were  divided 
up  that  Albert  had  the  best  ones.''  Be  this  as  it 
may,  they  were  a  most  remarkable  trio,  and  in  the 
great  days  that  followed  sold  more  high-priced 
horses  for  export  than  all  of  their  contemporaries 
combined.  Unfortunately  Albert  died  at  an  early 
age  in  1879,  his  decease  being  universally  regarded 
as  a  real  calamity  to  the  district.  It  was  from  Albert 
that  Mr.  Dunham  bought  Africus  (862),  Bayard 
(717),  Margot  d'Amilly  (795),  Duke  of  Perche 
(740),  Favora  (725)  and  Superior  (730). 

The  elder  brother  Louis  was  born  in  February, 
1835,  on  his  father's  farm  of  Amilly,  in  the  com- 
mune of  Condeau,  Orne,  where  he  remained  until 
as  a  young  man  he  went  to  live  with  his  grand- 
mother, the  grandfather  having  died.  In  1859,  as 
a  young  married  man,  he  began  his  long  and  suc- 
cessful career  as  a  breeder  of  horses  of  the  best 
Percheron  type  on  the  farm  known  as  Champeaux, 


Edmond  Per  riot 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  213 

where  Edmond,  so  well  known  in  connection  with 
latter-day  breeding  operations  in  the  Perche,  was 
born.  In  his  later  years  Champeaux  was  ceded  to 
the  son  Edmond,  the  father  removing  to  the  adjacent 
property  known  as  La  Borde,  where  he  at  an  ad- 
anced  age  has  continued  to  conduct  farming  and 
breeding  operations. 

Louis  Perriot  remembers  well  the  famous  stallion 
Vieux  Chaslin,  that  figures  so  prominently  in  the 
pedigrees  of  many  of  the  best  horses  of  the  founda- 
tion period  of  our  modern  records,  and  describes 
him  as  extraordinarily  good  in  the  chest,  neck  and 
head.  He  testifies  that  Vieux  Chaslin 's  progeny 
was  distinguished  always  for  quality  and  vigor,  be- 
ing in  great  demand  from  all  discriminating  buyers. 
His  father  bought  one  of  his  best  sons,  Favori  1st, 
a  gray,  foaled  in  1862.  Vieux  Chaslin  was  dropped 
in  1847  and  served  for  a  long  series  of  years  with 
remarkable  success  in  the  La  Ferte  district.  He 
was  owned  by  M.  Vinault,  one  of  the  leading  stal- 
lioners  of  his  day  in  the  Perche. 

Favori  1st,  the  stallion  that  brought  the  elder 
Perriot  his  greatest  fame,  was  the  sire  of  Bayard 
(717),  that  got  the  celebrated  stallion  French  Mon- 
arch (824),  bought  by  Mr.  Dunham  for  America  in 
1880  at  5  years  of  age  and  subsequently  sold  to  Mr. 
Wheelock  of  Moline,  111.  This  horse  should  not  be 
confused  with  one  of  the  same  name,  a  black  bred 
by  Tacheau  and  sold  into  Iowa  about  1874.  An- 
other noted  son  of  Favori  1st  was  Favora  (725), 
out  of  the  mare  Marie  by  the  great  Coco.    Favora 


214  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

was  imported  by  Mr.  Dunham.  He  was  not  only  a 
great  horse  individually,  but  a  sire  of  uncommon 
merit.  He  was  sold  at  $5,000  to  go  to  Oregon.  An- 
other Favora,  foaled  in  1868  and  got  by  French  Mon- 
arch, was  imported  by  the  Dillons  in  1880. 

Louis  Perriot  was  a  frequent  exhibitor  at  the 
shows  about  the  time  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of 
France  was  established,  although  he  never  entered 
into  the  competitions  with  the  zest  subsequently 
displayed  by  his  enterprising  son  Edmond.  Both 
were  famous  for  their  skill  in  fitting  horses  for  the 
showyard.  At  the  Percheron  society's  show  in  1887 
Louis  won  first  among  two-year-old  stallions  with 
Marmont,  and  in  1888  he  was  second  in  the  three- 
year-old  class  with  Kleber,  and  second  in  two-year- 
olds  with  Dompteur.  At  a  subsequent  show  he  was 
second  in  three-year-olds  with  Bacarat.  He  sold 
largely  at  one  time  to  the  Dillons,  and  from  him 
Mr.  Dunham  obtained  the  great  Baptiste  (737)  and 
Introuvable  (24146).  His  work  must  be  judged  not 
from  his  showyard  triumphs,  but  rather  from  his 
exceptionally  long  career  as  a  shrewd,  sound,  con- 
servative breeder.  Endowed  with  a  splendid  phys- 
ique, great  courage  and  determination,  and  un- 
bounded industry  he  is  at  this  writing  (1916)  still 
conducting  his  own  farm  and  breeding  stud,  al- 
though over  80  years  of  age.  It  should  be  observed 
that  his  son  Edmond  has  been  assisted  and  encour- 
aged in  his  breeding  operations  by  the  judgment 
and  experience  of  the  father.  Louis  Perriot  is  the 
last  of  the  old  school.    It  will  be  necessary  to. con- 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  215 

suit  the  stud  book  to  get  a  list  of  the  better-known 
horses  and  mares  that  he  bred  and  raised. 

Ernest  Perriot  stands  out  conspicuously  as  the 
greatest  constructive  Percheron  breeder  of  modern 
times.  He  was  born  on  his  father's  farm  of  Amilly, 
and  began  operations  on  his  own  account  about  the 
year  1870  at  the  farm  of  La  Chenelliere  near  Nogent, 
where  he  remained  until  shortly  before  his  death  in 
1912  at  I'Orme,  also  near  Nogent.  It  is  the  consensus 
of  opinion  of  all  those  who  have  been  most  familiar 
with  Percheron  breeding  for  the  last  half  century 
that  Ernest  Perriot  did  more  to  develop  the  most 
desirable  modern  type  of  the  Percheron  than  any 
of  his  contemporaries.  This  he  did  by  selecting  and 
retaining  the  individuals  which  measured  up  in  the 
very  best  fashion  to  the  standard  sought.  He  wanted 
size  with  quality,  and  like  most  of  those  who  have 
left  the  greatest  impress  on  all  of  the  leading  im- 
proved varieties  of  domestic  animals,  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  resort  to  the  powerful  influence  of  blood  con- 
centration. One  has  but  to  recall  the  names  of  a  few 
of  the  great  horses  bred  or  raised  by  Ernest  Perriot 
to  realize  the  outstanding  position  he  has  occupied 
since  the  inception  of  stud  book  records.  The  list 
would  begin  with  the  celebrated  Brilliant  1899 
(756),  and  includes  such  celebrities  as  Brilliant 
1271  (755),  Gilbert,  Bon  Espoir,  Fenelon,  Childe- 
bert,  Voltaire,  Briard,  Marathon,  lago  (768),  La 
Ferte,  Jules,  Mouille,  Villers,  Aiglon  and  Brilliant 
3d.  Most  of  these  famous  stallions  are  referred  to 
at  some  length  in  our  record  of  American  importa- 
tions. 


216  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Ernest  Perriot  was  one  of  the  founders  of  the 
Percheron  Stud  Book  of  France,  and  occupied  at 
different  times  the  chief  offices  of  that  society.  He 
was  also  the  recipient  of  honorary  decorations  at 
the  hands  of  the  French  Government.  From  1880 
to  1892  he  was  confessedly  the  leading  stallioner 
of  the  Perche.  His  strains  of  blood  were  in  keenest 
demand,  and  he  sold  at  higher  prices  than  anyone 
else  was  able  to  obtain.  For  a  long  series  of  years 
Mr.  Dunham  had  first  option  on  all  his  best.  He  sold 
to  others,  but  loyally  held  back  for  Mr.  Dunham's 
examination  all  his  choicest  specimens.  Until  Oak- 
lawn  was  done  others  had  no  chance  at  the  tops. 
Between  these  two  great  leaders  of  the  trade  dur- 
ing that  period  there  existed  a  close  friendship, 
based  on  mutual  respect  and  characterized  by  per- 
fect loyalty  on  both  sides,  and  it  is  computed  that 
during  his  lifetime  Mr.  Dunham  paid  Ernest  Per- 
riot fully  $350,000  for  Percherons.  Mr.  Perriot  did 
not  make  a  practice  of  exhibiting  his  horses  in  the 
public  competitions.  He  was  a  man  of  strong  per- 
sonality, a  fine  intellect,  and  an  unswerving,  inflex- 
ible strength  of  character — persistent  always  in 
pursuance  of  his  ideals,  which  were  attained  in 
striking  degree. 

Edmond  Perriot,  son  of  Louis,  bom  in  1863  at  the 
farm  of  Champeaux,  has  been  one  of  the  great  fig- 
ures of  the  Perche  in  recent  years.  He  married  the 
daughter  of  M.  Eigot,  one  of  the  ruling  Percheron 
powers  at  that  date,  and  this  alliance  proved  the 
foundation  of  a  most  successful  business  career.    It 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  217 

is  said  that  M.  Rigot  owned  or  controlled  more  good 
Percheron  mares  in  his  day  than  any  other  dozen 
men  in  the  district.  Many  of  the  best  horses  Mr. 
Dunham  had  from  Ernest  Perriot  in  the  earlier  days 
were  from  these  Rigot  mares.  Edmond  Perriot  at- 
tained the  top-most  round  of  success,  and  during 
the  Paris  Exposition  year,  1900,  sold  $100,000  worth 
of  horses  to  America  for  cash.  His  reminiscences  of 
the  American  trade  will  therefore  be  of  interest  in 
this  connection: 

^^One  of  my  earliest  recollections  is  that  of  see- 
ing Mark  W.  Dunham,  the  father  of  the  present  W. 
S.  Dunham,  who  comes  over  here  to  buy  every  year. 
That  was  long  before  the  stud  book  was  known  here, 
when  horses  could  be  shipped  to  America  without 
pedigree.  Mr.  Dunham  came  here  for  20  years, 
buying  from  100  to  150  head  annually.  He  was 
a  keen  judge  and  only  wanted  the  best,  for  which 
he  was  willing  to  pay  a  good  price.  His  earliest 
competitor  in  buying  that  I  recollect  was  Mr.  Dil- 
lon, who  was  also  an  excellent  judge  of  a  horse,  but 
who  was  getting  on  in  years  before  he  came  out  to 
the  Perche  and  did  not  continue  very  long.  The 
Ellwoods  took  his  place  and  for  long  years  the  buy- 
ing of  mares  and  stallions  in  the  Perche  was  prac- 
tically monopolized  by  them  and  Mr.  Dunham.  From 
the  very  beginning  prices  have  been  relatively  high 
for  good  breeding  stock,  and  Mr.  Dunham  did  not 
hesitate,  even  in  the  early  days,  to  go  as  high  as 
$3,000  and  even  $5,000  for  the  horse  he  wanted. 

'' Gradually  other  importers  came  to  swell  the 
field,  and  I  remember  when  I  was  about  18  or  20 
years  old  that  my  father  and  all  his  neighbors  in 
the  Perche  were  selling  all  the  good  horses  they 


218  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

could  raise  for  America.  It  was  at  this  time,  1881 
to  1883,  that  exportations  to  America  reached  to 
more  than  2,500  head.  The  trade  had  then  reached 
such  vast  proportions  and  become  of  such  material 
importance  to  Percheron  breeders  that  the  Societe 
Hippique  Percheronne,  or  French  Percheron  Society, 
was  organized  on  June  23,  1883,  by  a  few  breeders 
in  Nogent  and  the  district.  Of  course  my  father 
and  uncle  were  included  in  the  number.  It  had  been 
projected  since  1878.  There  was  also  a  rival  society, 
le  Percheron  Francais,  backed  by  the  Societe  des 
Agriculteur  de  France.  There  were  many  bitter 
quarrels  between  the  two  associations,  but  eventu- 
ally they  became  fused  into  one. 

*^In  the  early  '80  ^s  Mr.  Dunham  ceased  to  make 
his  purchases  personally,  entrusting  that  work  first 
to  Leonard  Johnson  and  subsequently  to  James  M. 
Fletcher.  The  type  selected  by  the  Americans 
at  the  beginning  was  about  the  same  size  as  the 
Paris  omnibus  horse.  We  used  to  ship  about  7,000 
head  a  year  to  the  omnibus  companies  in  Paris,  com- 
posed of  males  unsuitable  for  breeding  stallions; 
also  many  barren  mares  went  to  Paris,  but  the  ma- 
jority were  shipped  to  Bordeaux,  Montbeliard, 
Havre  and  other  large  cities.  The  proportions  of 
dappled  gray  horses  in  the  Perche  at  that  time  was 
about  75  per  cent,  and  the  weight  of  a  mature  stal- 
lion ran  around  1,700  to  1,750  pounds. 

^^If  I  remember  rightly  it  was  the  Ell  woods,  about 
1881,  who  first  evinced  a  desire  to  buy  larger  horses, 
and  they  acquired  the  celebrated  stallion  Cesar,  the 
precursor  of  the  elephantine  Percheron,  as  the 
French  breeders  say.  Cesar  weighed  close  on  2,200 
pounds  at  2  years  old.  Unfortunately  he  died  in 
crossing  the  ocean.  Nevertheless  the  fiat  had  gone 
forth  for  larger  horses,  consequent  on  the  improved 


L'    ORilE— RESIDENCE    OF    THE    LATE    ERXEST    PERRIOT,    PRIXCE    OF 
PERCHEROX  BREEDERS. 


LA  BORDE— RESIDENCE   OF  LOUIS  PERRIOT. 


I 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  219 

and  heavier  farm  implements  manufactured  at  that 
period  in  the  United  States.  This  gave  to  our 
breeders  the  opportunity  to  prove  to  the  world  the 
remarkable  versatility  of  the  Percheron  horse,  and 
friends  and  foes  alike  found  that  we  could  produce 
the  real  heavy,  drafty  type  without  sacrificing  that 
high  quality  for  which  our  product  has  always  been 
famous.  It  was  a  crucial  test  in  the  history  of  our 
breed,  but  the  breeders  of  the  Perche  rose  success- 
fully to  the  occasion. 

^^This  new  demand  for  a  larger  horse  was  taken 
up  also  by  James  B.  McLaughlin,  who  came  into 
prominence  in  the  Perche  after  the  Ellwoods  had 
ceased  to  buy.  Mr.  McLaughlin  was  for  years  one 
of  the  most  active  of  the  American  importers  and  at 
one  time  probably  purchased  as  many  horses  as 
any  other  one  importer.  Indeed,  a  Paris  or  Nogent 
show  without  the  presence  of  Mr.  McLaughlin 
would  be  like  Hamlet  without  the  title  character. 

''From  1880  to  1891  trade  was  very  brisk  with 
Americans  in  the  Perche,  but  in  1892  it  fell  off 
and  from  1894  to  1898  there  were  practically  no 
exportations  to  the  United  States  on  account  of 
the  financial  depression  in  that  country.  From  the 
latter  date  up  to  1905  the  average  annual  exporta- 
tions of  Percheron  stallions  was  about  700  head, 
but  in  1906  the  enormous  number  of  1,300  stallions 
and  200  mares  were  purchased  by  American  im- 
porters. One  of  the  prominent  buyers  during  these 
busy  years  along  with  J.  B.  McLaughlin  was  James 
M.  Fletcher,  who  followed  Leonard  Johnson  and 
bought  for  the  firm  of  Dunham,  Fletcher  &  Cole- 
man. Afterwards  quite  a  small  army  of  American 
importers  and  breeders  came  to  scour  the  Perche 
every  year,  and  such  men  as  W.  S.  Dunham,  George 
Crouch,   J.   Omer   Singmaster,   Bell   Bros.,   Eobert 


220  A  HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Burgess,  Chas.  R.  Coleman,  Chas.  Taylor  of  Taylor 
&  Jones,  Judson  Hayden,  A.  B.  Holbert  and  others 
have  made  important  purchases  in  the  Perche. 

^'In  1889  I  commenced  showing  on  my  own  ac- 
count at  the  Paris  show,  and  obtained  3  prizes  with 
4  horses,  being  awarded  a  second  prize  on  Margon, 
a  three-year-old  which  I  sold  to  Mr.  Dillon.  My 
greatest  triumph  perhaps  was  at  Paris  at  the  great 
exposition  of  1900,  where  I  got  4  first  prizes,  the 
championships  and  the  grand  championship.  I 
have  been  awarded  11  championships  at  the  provin- 
cial shows  in  France  since  1894,  6  championships 
at  Paris  since  1905,  and  15  championships  at  the 
Percheron  society's  show  since  1891. 

^^I  have  known  some  icelebrated  stallions  that 
have  done  much  for  the  breed.  In  1899  I  sold  a 
very  fine  stallion  Phenix  to  J.  M.  Fletcher.  In 
1900,  Suffren,  winner  of  first  in  the  two-year-old 
class  at  Paris,  was  bought  by  J.  B.  McLaughlin, 
who  also  acquired  a  splendid  three-year-old  Raynal, 
first-prize  winner  at  the  same  show.  He  got  the 
famous  stallion  Orangiste  the  same  year.  This 
horse  obtained  first  prize  at  Nantes  and  Nogent  as 
a  two-year-old.  That  year  J.  M.  Fletcher  bought 
2  fine  stallions,  Chambellon  and  Scipion,  aged  and 
three-year-old  champions  respectively.  Champeaux, 
a  stallion  sold  to  Mr.  Dillon  as  a  five-year-old,  was 
a  remarkable  breeder,  and  his  progeny  must  be  all 
over  America.  One  of  the  finest  three-year-olds  I 
ever  saw  was  Fusain,  first  at  Paris  and  Rouen.  He 
was  bought  by  J.  B.  McLaughlin.  Of  course  nearly 
all  our  best  stock  traces  back  to  Brilliant  (756), 
the  son  of  Coco  2d,  born  in  1867  on  the  farm  of 
my  uncle  Ernest  Perriot.'' 

The  Perriot  Percherons  were  distinguished  usu- 
ally for  their  size,  good  bone,  fine  heads  and  well- 


AT  TOP,    EDMOND   PEHRIOT;    AT     BOTTOM,     A.     TACHEAU.     SB..     J.     O.     SING- 
MASTEB   AND   M.    TACHEAU'S    YOUNGEST   SON.    WHO    DIED    IN    1902. 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  221 

set  necks — a  heavy  clrafty  sort  standing  on  short 
legs.  Towards  the  end  of  Ernest  Perriot^s  career 
it  was  commonly  allowed  that  some  little  lack  of 
size  and  constitution  had  begun  to  appear.  There 
was  apparently  some  falling  away  from  the  old- 
time  outstanding  excellence,  and  yet  to  this  day 
among  the  strongly-bred  Perriot  stallions  where 
the  individual  quality  scarcely  measures  up  to  the 
older  standards  the  blood  continues  to  breed  on 
with  extraordinary  success,  producing  horses  of  a 
character  illustrating  once  more  the  operation  of 
well  known  laws  of  heredity — reversion  to  ancestral 
types. 

The  Tacheaus. — Forever  famous  in  the  annals 
of  the  Perche  will  stand  the  names  of  Auguste 
Tacheau,  pere  et  fils.  After  M.  Vinault  the  senior 
Tacheau  was  the  greatest  stallioner  and  breeder 
of  the  La  Ferte  Bernard  region.  Like  Charles  Ave- 
line  and  other  contemporaries,  he  was  ever  active 
in  catering  to  the  great  American  demand,  and  in 
this  service  acquired  a  fortune.  When  Charles 
Aveline  was  still  a  young  man  the  two  leaders  in 
the  development  of  Percheron  interests  were  Ta- 
cheau grand-pere  and  the  father  of  Louis  and 
Ernest  Perriot.  It  was  Tacheau  pere  that  acquired 
French  Monarch  (734)  in  1868,  and  used  him  as  a 
stud  horse  in  the  La  Ferte  district,  during  which 
time — 1868  to  1874 — that  great  horse  served  a  large 
number  of  mares  and  acquired  a  reputation  as  a 
sire  of  highclass  stock,  being  then  sold  to  America 
to  S.  S.  Waterbur}^  and  A.  W.  Cook  of  Iowa.    Dur- 


222  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

ing  his  active  period  of  service  in  France  it  has  been 
recorded  that  "during  the  6  years  that  he  served 
mares  for  M.  Tacheau  he  acquired  in  the  district 
as  a  stallion  a  reputation  almost  without  equal, 
his  progeny  always  being  remarkable  for  their 
quality  and  their  size.'' 

M.  Tacheau  also  bought  from  M.  Sagot  Coco  2d, 
a  stallion  that  won  many  prizes,  and,  according  to 
M.  Pelleray  and  others,  was  the  greatest  sire  of  his 
day  in  all  Perclie.  The  name  of  Tacheau  also  will 
be  associated  with  the  celebrated  stallion  Besigue, 
sold  to  go  to  Dr.  Hartman  of  Columbus,  0.;  the 
great  horse  died  unfortunately  on  ship  board  on 
the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

Probably  the  most  noted  stallion  America  ever 
obtained  from  the  Tacheau  stables  was  Seducteur, 
imported  in  1888  by  W.  L.  Ellwood  and  afterwards 
the  property  of  H.  G.  McMillan.  It  was  from  M. 
Tacheau  also  that  Mr.  Ellwood  bought  Baccarat,  a 
prizewinner  in  France,  which  sold  as  a  three-year-old 
to  Kufus  B.  Kellogg  of  Green  Bay,  Wis.,  for  $6,000. 
In  1883  M.  W.  Dunham  bought  20  two-year-old  colts 
from  M.  Tacheau  at  $20,000  for  the  lot.  Other  pre- 
potent sires  from  Tacheau 's  were  Bibi  and  Jupiter. 

Auguste  Tacheau 's  interest  in  Percherons  was 
transmitted  to  his  son,  thus  carrying  on  the  tradi- 
tional attachment  of  the  family  to  the  draft  horse 
stock  that  has  made  the  Perche  famous  on  both 
sides  the  Atlantic.  Tacheau  pere  was  always  pop- 
ular with  the  American  buyers  of  his  time.  He 
operated  in  a  country  of  rich  pastures,  handled  a 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  223 

very  large  number  of  colts,  and  was  a  frequent  and 
successful  exhibitor  at  Nogent,  Paris  and  other  lead- 
ing shows,  not  only  with  stallions  but  with  mares  as 
well.  In  1886  he  won  first  at  Nogent  in  yeld  mares 
with  Queen  of  Perclie,  and  first,  second  and  third  in 
the  two-year-old  stallion  class  on  Seducteur  (7057), 
Phenix  (6983)  and  Fils  de  Voltaire  (6832),  also  tak- 
ing first  for  best  lot  of  stallions.  M.  Tacheau  was 
one  of  the  members  of  the  executive  committee  of 
the  Societe  Hippique  Percheronne  after  its  organ- 
ization in  1883.    He  died  at  Cannes  in  March,  1906. 

Auguste  Tacheau,  Jr.,  has  more  than  sustained 
his  father's  reputation  and  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  he  is  one  of  the  foremost  French  breeders  of 
this  day  and  generation. 

Charles  Paul  Aveline. —  Another  tower  of  strength 
in  the  Percheron  trade  at  the  time  of  the  establish- 
ment of  the  stud  book  in  France  was  the  late  M.  Ave- 
line, whose  death  in  January,  1916,  was  mourned 
on  both  sides  the  Atlantic  by  all  familiar  with  lat- 
ter-day Percheron  history.  Born  in  1853,  the  son 
of  a  breeder  and  farmer  of  high  local  repute,  he  early 
made  his  mark  as  a  farmer,  stallioner  and  breeder 
at  La  Crochetiere,  Verrieres,  Orne,  a  district  which 
from  time  immemorial  has  been  celebrated  for  rich 
pastures  and  good  horses. 

The  first  reference  made  to  M.  Aveline  in  the  gov- 
ernment haras  records  is  in  1883,  as  the  owner  of  a 
17-hand,  iron-gray  stallion  known  as  Brilliant.  He 
was  given  a  bonus  of  300  francs  by  the  government 
authorities  in  that  year.     Another  stallion  named 


224  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Clieri,  foaled  in  1880,  an  iron-gray  standing  18  hands 
high,  is  in  the  haras  registry  as  approved  for  1883, 
receiving  the  same  stipend  as  Brilliant.  It  will  be 
noted  from  this  that  three-year-old  horses  now  began 
to  receive  official  recognition.  M.  Aveline  also  had 
Margot,  a  dark-gray  horse,  foaled  in  1878,  16.2  hands 
high,  that  was  approved  and  served  in  1883  with  a 
pension  similar  to  that  accorded  Cheri  and  Brilliant. 
During  the  succeeding  years  we  find  the  names  of 
the  bay  horse  Decide,  Paul,  a  mouse-gray  .  (gris 
souris),  Monarque,  a  light-gray  17  hands  high,  Her- 
cules, a  black  standing  a  little  over  17  hands  high, 
and  Bon  Coeur,  a  black  16-hand  horse  foaled  in  1881, 
Sultan  (362),  Vulcain,  Bon  Courage,  Dragon,  Haut- 
bois.  Fronton,  Chichi,  Etradegant,  Etudiant  and 
Orangiste. 

In  his  mature  years  M.  Aveline  removed  to  the 
fine  estate  of  La  Touche,  near  Nogent —  his  wife 
being  a  Chouanard — and  here  he  maintained  for  a 
long  series  of  years  an  establishment  which  was 
visited  regularly,  and  always  with  keen  enjoyment, 
by  all  American  buyers.  He  was  one  of  the  found- 
ers of  the  Percheron  Stud  Book  of  France,  and  for 
15  years  prior  to  his  death  was  the  society's  pres- 
ident, a  fact  which  illustrates  well  his  standing  in 
the  Perche.  M.  Aveline  visited  the  Trans-Mississip- 
pi Exposition  at  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  in  1904,  and  was 
decorated  by  the  French  government  with  the  cross 
of  Commandeur  of  the  Merite  Agricole  and  Chevalier 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor.  He  was  a  man  of  rare 
intelligence,  sound  business  judgment,  courage,  tact 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  225 

and  honesty,  and  in  his  recent  death  contemporary 
Percheron  breeding  in  France  lost  its  leading  light. 
He  leaves  a  son  Louis,  who  for  some  years  has  been 
active  as  successor  to  his  father  in  the  Percheron 
trade  and  who  during  the  great  war  has  been  sta- 
tioned in  the  United  States  as  an  officer  of  the  French 
military  service  buying  horses  for  the  armies  of 
France. 

Credit  Due  These  Pioneers. — From  the  foregoing 
it  will  appear  that  before  the  era  of  the  foundation 
of  the  stud  book  there  were  men  of  good  judgment, 
staunch  admires  of  the  Percheron  breed,  who  united 
their  efforts  and  created  departmental  and  local  com- 
mittees for  the  purpose  of  improving  the  breed.  To 
these  men  must  be  paid  a  special  tribute  of  grati- 
tude, whether  they  were  in  the  government  service, 
rich  landowners  of  the  district  or  only  small  farmers 
or  tenants.  They  were  not  stimulated  in  the  old 
days  by  big  prices  paid  by  importers.  Some  Perche- 
rons  had  been  exported  to  different  countries  of 
Europe  between  1820  and  1870,  notably  to  Italy, 
Pinissia,  Saxony  and  Eussia.  And  speaking  of  this 
period  M.  Paul  Chouanard  says: 

^'Before  the  Crimean  war  M.  Joseph  Chouanard, 
then  residing  at  La  Touche  1854-1855,  sold  during 
some  years  a  number  of  Percheron  stallions  and 
mares  to  a  Eussian  general  named  Schweider,  who 
used  to  remain  for  a  week  at  La  Touche  at  each 
voyage.  At  the  Hamburg  Show  (Germany)  in  1863 
3  Percheron  stallions  owned  by  a  gentleman  from 
Saxony  took  prizes." 

The  American  people  were  the  first,  however,  to 


226  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

recognize  in  a  broad  way  the  real  merit  of  the  breed 
for  draft  purposes  in  other  lands.  They  pushed  Per- 
cheron  breeding  on  a  large  scale,  and  then  it  was  that 
great  prosperity  began  in  the  Perche. 

Founding  of  the  Stud  Book. — The  first  volume  of 
the  ''Stud  Book  Percheron,  public  par  la  Societe 
Hippique  Percheronne,  autorisee  par  le  Gouvern- 
menf  was  issued  at  Nogent-le-Eotrou  in  1883  under 
the  Honorary  Presidency  of  M.  le  Prefet  d'Eure-et- 
Loir,  the  Honorary  Vice-President  of  M.  le  Sous- 
Prefet  de  Nogent-le-Rotrou,  and  the  ex-officio 
patronage  of  M.  le  Maire  de  Nogent-le-Kotrou.  This 
was  the  beginning  of  official  registration  of  Perche- 
ron  horses  in  the  home  of  the  breed.  The  charter 
membership  included  all  the  leading  breeders  of  the 
Perche,  about  125  in  number,  one  of  the  most  emin- 
ent of  whom,  M.  Michel  Fardouet,  was  elected  to 
the  active  presidency  of  the  association.  Louis  Per- 
riot  and  M.  Moulin  were  chosen  vice-presidents,  and 
M.  Boullay-Chaumard  was  made  secretary-treasurer. 
A  board  of  directors,  including  17  of  the  best-known 
supporters  of  Percheron  interests,  was  created, 
prominent  among  those  serving  in  such  capacity 
being  MM.  Vinault,  Sagot,  Miard,  Launay,  Auguste 
Tacheau,  Caget,  Gautier,  Desire  Ducoeurjoly,  Rigot, 
Goupil  and  Aveline  fils.  This  movement  had  the 
active  support  of  leading  patrons  of  the  breed  in 
America,  including  Messrs.  M.  W.  Dunham,  J.  H. 
Sanders,  founder  of  the  American  stud  book,  and 
others. 

From  the  introduction  to  this  initial  volume  of 


LA  CROCHETIERE,  FARM  OF  LOUIS  AVELINE. 


LA   BEETONNERIE.    FARM  OP   CHABLES   CHOUANARD. 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  227 

the  Stud  Book  of  France,  prepared  by  President 
Fardouet,  we  extract  the  following: 

*'In  presenting  the  first  volume  of  the  Percheron 
stud  book  to  the  public,  the  Societe  Hippique  Per- 
cheronne  is  sensible  of  the  keenest  pleasure  in  hav- 
ing accomplished  a  work  that  will  be  of  untold  value 
to  the  future  as  well  as  the  present  breeders  and 
owners  of  the  Percheron  race.  The  organization 
embraces  in  its  membership  nearly  all  of  the  promi- 
nent breeders  and  stallioners  of  the  Perche,  many, 
very  many  of  whom  have  grown  old  themselves 
in  the  commendable  work,  and  whose  ancestors  for 
generations  have,  like  them,  devoted  their  lives  to 
developing  and  fostering  this  matchless  breed, 
whose  antiquity  of  origin  stands  first  among  those 
of  the  equine  races  of  civilized  nations — a  breed 
that  has  been  moulded  to  the  necessities  of  the 
ditferent  periods  of  its  existence  for  hundreds  of 
years  under  the  vivifying  influences  and  climatic 
effects  of  the  Perche,  as  well  as  by  the  inimitable 
processes  of  educating  both  males  and  females 
from  the  earliest  age  and  with  the  most  judicious 
care  possible  by  the  actual  perfonnance  of  the 
work  they  will  be  called  upon  to  do  during  their 
lives,  thus  slowly  and  surely  developing  their  physi- 
cal capabilities  and  instinctive  aptitudes  into  hered- 
itary and  transmissible  forces,  which  have  been 
exerted  with  such  potent  power  in  the  amelioration 
of  all  races  with  which  it  has  come  in  contact. 

^^In  feudal  ages  the  country  required  a  class  of 
horses  suited  to  an  equestrian  race,  and  the  Perche 
supplied  them.  Under  the  empire  of  a  higher  civili- 
zation the  peaceful  pursuits  of  agriculture  and 
commerce  demanded  horses  for  the  post,  the  dili- 
gence, and  for  agricultural  and  draft  purposes.  The 
Perche  was  called  upon,  and  she  met  the  demand. 


228  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

The  introduction  of  steam  as  a  power  marked  a 
new  era;  the  building  of  railroads  and  steamships, 
and  its  adoption  as  a  power  in  all  the  useful  arts, 
in  manufacturing,  has  changed  all.  The  post  and 
diligence  are  gone;  the  agricultural  and  great  com- 
mercial marts  remain  to  be  supplied.  Labor  and 
food  have  become  more  costly,  and  the  people,  by 
force  of  necessity  and  the  demands  of  economy, 
call  for  larger,  stronger,  but  equally  active  horses 
to  till  the  requirements  of  the  time.  How  has  the 
Perche  sustained  herself  under  the  pressure  of  this 
last  and  most  difficult  demand?  The  answer  fills 
us  with  pride  and  gratification. 

^'The  government  and  all  the  departments  of 
France  are  eager  purchasers  of  Percheron  stallions 
to  improve  and  ameliorate  their  native  breeds. 
Russia,  Austria,  Germany  and  Italy  buy  largely, 
both  by  direct  government  purchase  and  by  pri- 
vate enterprise;  even  Great  Britain,  bound  up  as 
she  is  in  her  own  egotism,  is  a  customer  of  no 
small  magnitude.  With  such  magnificent  acknowl- 
edgments of  the  value  and  superiority  of  the  Per- 
cheron race  we  ought  to  be  content;  but  this  is 
not  the  half.  The  plains  of  South  America  are  be- 
ing supplied  with  stock  of  our  breeding;  and  lastly, 
that  beautiful  country,  that  great  republic  across 
the  sea,  whose  progress  is  the  marvel  of  the  world, 
is  our  most  enamored  admirer  and  liberal  pur- 
chaser— so  liberal,  indeed,  that  grave  apprenhen- 
sions  are  being  expressed  as  to  our  future  ability 
to  supply  the  rapidly  increasing  demand  upon  us 
for  our  best  males  and  females  of  all  ages,  with- 
out materially  deteriorating  our  stock.  This  ques- 
tion is  one  that  needs  the  most  earnest  thought  and 
energetic  action  of  all  interested  in  the  preservation 
to  the  Perche  of  her  pristine  glory. 


FARM    OF   D.    DUCOEURJOLY. 


LA    TOUCHE,    RESIDENCE    OF    THE    lATE    CHARLES    AVELINE,    LONG    PRESI- 
DENT   OF    THE    PERCHERON    SOCIETY    OF    FRANCE. 


THE  FRENCH   STORY  RESUMED  229 

*'To  preserve  and  perpetuate  the  valuable  qual- 
ities of  the  Percheron  race  against  invasion  from 
all  sources  is  one  of  the  missions  of  this  society. 
In  order  to  accomplish  this  purpose,  it  becomes 
necessary  thoroughly  to  investigate  all  elements  of 
breeding  that  have  contributed  to  the  grand  results 
we  now  enjoy,  and  by  carefully  classifying  all  ani- 
mals with  their  pedigrees,  that  we  may  see  what 
strains  of  blood,  which  families  and  what  orders 
of  union  have  been  prolific  of  the  greatest  benefits 
in  the  past,  thus  establishing  invaluable  precedents 
from  which  more  intelligently  to  shape  our  future 
course,  and  with  greater  degrees  of  certainty  arrive 
at  the  desired  ends.  These  investigations  have 
shown  us  that  the  improvements  of  the  past  neces- 
sary to  meet  the  changing  demands  have  been 
accomplished  by  selecting  animals  best  suited  to 
the  new  requirements,  and,  by  a  judicious  system 
of  in-and-in  breeding  perpetuate  the  valuable  qual- 
ities sought  for,  at  the  same  time  intensifying  their 
hereditary  powers  of  transmitting  those  qualities.^' 

Meager  Data  at  First  Available. — In  common 
with  all  other  pioneer  undertakings  of  this  char- 
acter, the  effort  to  collect  for  the  first  time  reliable 
information  concerning  the  foundation  stock  Avas 
attended  by  many  difficulties.  In  respect  to  the 
remote  origin  of  the  race,  and  indeed  in  respect  to 
the  work  done  by  the  preceding  generation  in  the 
Perche,  there  was  only  of  record  M.  Du  Hays' 
treatise,  already  alluded  to  in  preceding  chapters. 
Valuable  and  interesting  as  was  this  cleverly  writ- 
ten work,  its  author  apparently  had  not  the  time 
nor  the  patience  to  search  the  archives  of  the  gov- 
ernment touching  the  Percherons  of  pre-stud  book 


230  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

days,  but  contented  himself  rather  with  eulogizing 
the  breed,  and  accepting,  apparently  without  ques- 
tion, such  traditions  as  had  been  handed  down  by 
writers  who  made  no  pretense  of  basing  their 
statements  upon  anything  more  reliable  than  mere 
hearsay.  True  to  their  ancient  habit  of  being  more 
interested  in  the  work  of  the  moment  than  delving 
amidst  dusty  documents  dealing  with  a  long  for- 
gotten past,  these  stud  book  organizers  builded,  as 
best  they  could,  upon  Du  Hays  and  the  memories 
of  the  older  inhabitants  of  the  district  at  the  time 
they  took  up  pedigree  registration. 

Obviously  little  success  was  met  with  in  attempt- 
ing to  obtain  actual  pedigrees  of  the  remote  an- 
cestors of  the  horses  found  in  the  Perche  at  the 
date  this  basic  volume  was  undertaken.  Clearly, 
in  the  absence  of  any  known  written  records,  the 
practical  thing  to  do  was  to  make  a  beginning  with 
the  stock  in  the  hands  of  the  leading  breeders  of 
the  district  at  the  time,  with  such  particulars  as 
were  to  be  had  concerning  the  ancestry  in  the 
first  and  second  generations.  This  was  the  course 
in  the  main  pursued  and  in  this  respect  the  be- 
ginnings of  Percheron  registration  on  both  sides 
the  Atlantic  differed  in  no  wise  from  the  circum- 
stances surrounding  the  first  attempts  at  establish- 
ing public  records  for  all  our  other  best-known 
breeds  of  improved  domestic  animals. 

The  Case  of  Jean-le-Blanc. — The  great  majority 
of  stallions  and  mares  entered  in  the  first  volume 
were  animals  foaled  between  1878  and  the  date  of 


;        M.  Rigot        ]  V  n^  Wktte  -  Gate 


THE  FRENCH  STORY  RESUMED  231 

issue,  1883.  In  a  few  notable  instances,  such  as 
the  case  of  the  stallion  recorded  as  Jean-le-Blanc 
(739),  an  attempt  was  made  to  ground  some  of 
the  contemporary  pedigrees  in  the  blood  of  stal- 
lions of  good  repute  known  to  have  lived  in  a  dis- 
tant past,  but  the  record  ascribed  to  such  horses 
has  in  some  cases  yet  to  be  substantiated  by  authen- 
tic data.  Jean-le-Blanc 's  existence  can  scarcely  be 
a  subject  of  doubt,  but  in  the  matter  of  his  alleged 
descent  from  Gallipoly,  in  the  light  of  our  investi- 
gations at  Paris  covering  the  period  in  which  he 
is  said  to  have  been  foaled,  we  can  only  enter  up 
the  old  Scotch  verdict — '^not  proven.''  There 
probably  was  such  a  stallion  as  Jean-le-Blanc,  else 
the  name  could  never  have  been  handed  down  with 
so  much  veneration,  but  no  man  lives  today  who 
can  verify  any  part  of  his  history. 

We  have  been  at  some  pains  to  run  down  the 
story  of  this  erstwhile  celebrated  progenitor  of 
latter-day  Percherons,  but  the  most  we  can  get  in 
the  Perche  is  from  a  few  of  the  oldest  breeders, 
who  say  that  in  their  youth  they  remember  hearing 
their  fathers  speak  of  such  a  horse.  He  is  said 
to  have  been  foaled  in  1823  or  1824,  but  while  the 
official  records  of  that  period,  which  we  have  al- 
ready presented,  seem  complete  and  circumspect 
in  their  listing  of  government-owned  and  govern- 
ment-approved horses,  they  contain  no  mention  of 
Jean-le-Blanc.  He  is  said  to  have  lived  to  be  25 
years  of  age  and  to  have  left  a  numerous  progeny. 
Fortunately,  however,  at  this  late  date  the  matter 


232  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

is  one  of  merely  academic  interest.  Tliose  who 
made  the  entry  of  course  acted  in  the  utmost  good 
faith.  They  had  the  tradition,  and  published  it 
for  what  it  was  worth.  They  had  no  occasion  for 
doubting  its  accuracy  at  the  time.  They  had  not 
the  government  archives  before  them.  Criticism 
upon  this  head  must  therefore  stop  with  the  state- 
ment that  those  who  were  doing  this  pioneer  work 
might  have  gone  to  Paris  and  searched,  as  we  have 
now  done,  the  manuscripts  and  records  in  the 
possession  of  the  French  Government.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  had  the  Percheron  breeders  of  France 
and  America,  who  cooperated  in  launching  this 
difficult  enterprise  in  1883,  known  of  the  mine  of 
information  then  existing  in  Paris  concerning  the 
origin  of  the  modern  heavy  draft  type  of  Perche- 
ron horses,  developed  for  the  first  time  in  this 
volume,  they  would  have  been  quick  to  utilize  it. 
The  breed  had  a  foundation  history  behind  it  which 
was  not  properly  reflected  by  the  earlier  stud  books. 
In  other  words,  the  Percheron  of  the  ante-stud 
book  days  was  a  stronger-bred  horse  than  is  indi- 
cated by  the  existing  foundation  records.  He  is 
not  the  creation  of  the  past  30  years.  The  pedi- 
grees really  run  back  at  least  to  the  era  of  the 
first  Napoleon,  but  the  missing  links  cannot  now 
be  gathered  up. 


CHAPTER  IX. 
THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE  '80 'S. 

An  extraordinary  period  of  expansion  in  Perche- 
ron  importing  and  breeding  in  America  was  inaug- 
urated in  1881.  It  continued  until  about  1890,  reach- 
ing its  climax  in  1887  and  1888.  The  country  had 
recovered  from  the  depression  of  the  70 's,  land  was 
advancing  fast  in  value,  and  the  states  west  of  the 
Missouri  River  were  being  settled  rapidly.  Horse- 
power was  urgently  needed  for  the  development  of 
these  prairies  and  horse-breeding  on  large  western 
ranches  was  undertaken  on  a  commercial  basis.  Busi- 
ness conditions  were  favorable.  The  result  was  a 
rapid  growth  of  draft  horse  breeding  in  America. 

Only  20  men  made  importations  in  1880,  but  the 
number  of  importers  increased  as  follows:  1881,  29; 
1882,  39;  1883,  42;  1884,  42;  1885,  50.  Still  more 
were  engaged  in  1886,  1887  and  1888.  The  number 
of  breeders  increased  more  than  tenfold.  In  1880 
only  45  breeders  were  producing  Percherons  in 
America;  by  1890  the  number  had  increased  to  593. 
During  this  period  of  expansion  4,988  stallions  and 
2,566  mares  were  imported,  and  1,920  stallions  and 
2,089  mares  were  bred  in  America. 

Distribution  by  States. — Illinois  was  the  leading 
state  in  the  breeding  of  Percherons  at  this  time,  with 

233 


234  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

a  total  of  203  breeders.  The  other  prominent  states, 
with  the  number  of  breeders  in  order,  were:  Iowa  66, 
Ohio  55,  New  York  31,  Minnesota  30,  Michigan  28, 
Pennsylvania  23,  Wisconsin  23,  Indiana  21,  Kansas 
20,  Missouri  18,  and  Nebraska  12:  Breeding  had 
been  begun  in  20  other  states  but  was  limited  in 
extent. 

This  epoch  was  made  notable  by  the  coming  of 
some  new  men  whose  means  and  ambitions  enabled 
them  to  take  high  rank  in  Percheron  operations. 
Foremost  among  these  was  W.  L.  Ellwood,  DeKalb, 
111.,  who  proved  the  strongest  competitor  which  M. 
W.  Dunham  encountered  in  his  lifetime.  Mark  Coad 
of  Nebraska,  Hon.  T.  W.  Palmer  of  Michigan,  John 
W.  Akin  of  New  York,  Fred  Pabst  and  R.  B.  Kellogg 
of  Wisconsin,  Leonard  Johnson,  George  E.  Case  and 
the  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co.,  all  of  Minne- 
sota, also  acquired  prominence  during  this  period. 

Oaklawn  Breeding  Operations. — Mark  W.  Dun- 
ham 's  breeding  operations  reached  their  climax  dur- 
ing this  period,  as  he  reared  182  stallions  and  173 
mares  of  his  own  production,  almost  as  many  as  his 
four  leading  contemporaries  combined.  His  rank, 
however,  depends  less  on  mere  numbers  than  on  the 
character  of  colts  produced.  The  influence  of  the 
Oaklawn  Farm  operations  of  this  period  has  been 
so  far-reaching  that  it  must  receive  detailed  con- 
sideration. 

It  was  Mr.  Dunham's  idea  from  the  outset  to  de- 
velop as  rapidly  as  possible  the  breeding  of  Perche- 
rons  in  America,  and  he  imported  mares  freely:  in 


THE   GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  235 

1881  36,  in  1882  43,  and  in  1883  108.  His  total  im- 
portations of  mares  from  1881  to  1890  amounted  to 
319  head.  An  examination  of  the  Oaklawn  Farm  in- 
ventory shows  that  he  had  on  hand  on  Jan.  1,  1887, 
150  mares;  on  July  1,  1887,  148  mares  and  37  more 
which  were  out  on  lease;  on  Jan.  1,  1888,  156  mares 
and  39  more  out  on  lease;  on  July  1,  1888,  133  mares 
and  66  more  out  on  lease;  on  Jan.  1,  1890,  179  mares 
and  13  out  on  lease.  More  details  could  be  given, 
but  enoug'h  has  been  cited  to  show  the  large  number 
of  mares  kept  in  the  Oaklawn  stud.  In  individual- 
ity and  breeding  these  mares  were  of  the  highest 
character,  as  they  were  imported  by  Mr.  Dunham  for 
his  own  use;  he  sought  and  secured  the  choicest 
mares  obtainable  in  France,  buying  freely  from  all 
of  the  leading  breeders  and  mare  owners  of  the 
Perche.  Breeders  still  living  who  were  intimately 
acquainted  with  the  mares  assembled  at  Oaklawn  in 
this  period  are  agreed  that  no  stud  in  America,  and 
probably  none  in  the  world,  ever  numbered  in  its 
ranks  so  many  mares  of  the  best  Percheron  type 
and  breeding.  The  738  Percherons  bred  at  Oaklawn 
between  1872  and  1900  were  produced  by  287  dif- 
ferent dams.  This  fact,  considered  with  the  numbers 
owned  at  different  dates,  is  evidence  that  the  rate 
of  increase  was  slow. 

The  Brilliant  Blood.— In  1881  Mr.  Dunham  im- 
ported Brilliant  1271  (755)  and  in  the  same  year 
Leonard  Johnson,  who  was  acting  as  a  buyer  in 
France  for  Mr.  Dunham,  imported  his  sire.  Brilliant 
1899  (756).    Brilliant  1899  was  used  but  one  year  on 


236  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

purebred  mares;  he  then  was  sold  into  a  community 
where  he  was  bred  only  to  grade  mares  until  his 
death.  Brilliant  1271  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Oaklawn  stud  in  1882  and  became  the  most  famous 
sire  ever  used  in  America.  However,  his  greatest 
descendants  are  the  result  of  line-breeding  his  sons 
and  grandsons  on  daughters  and  granddaughters  of 
Brilliant  1899,  so  that  the  two  together  must  be 
given  the  credit  for  the  dominance  of  Brilliant  blood 
in  the  Percheron  breed. 

The  leading  showring  winners  of  the  '80 's  and 
early  '90 's  were  dominated  by  the  Brilliant  blood, 
but  the  most  remarkable  feature  is  the  prepotency 
of  the  leading  horses  of  this  strain.  Out  of  the  56 
animals  that  won  first  prizes  in  the  stallion  and  mare 
classes  at  the  shows  held  by  the  Societe  Hippique 
Percheronne  de  France  during  the  years  from  1901 
to  1908  all  but  9  traced  directly  in  the  sire's  line 
to  Brilliant  1271  or  Brilliant  1899,  or  both,  the  chief 
lines  of  descent  being  through  Brilliant  3d  11116 
(2919),  Villers  13169  (8081)  and  Marathon  11410 
(10386). 

In  addition  to  this  record,  which  includes  only  first- 
prize  animals  at  the  most  important  show  in  France, 
the  record  of  the  International  Live  Stock  Exposi- 
tion at  Chicago  offers  cumulative  evidence  of  the 
prepotency  and  value  of  Brilliant  blood.  Of  the  11 
different  stallions  that  have  won  grand  champion- 
ship honors  in  the  14  shows  that  have  been  held,  all 
but  2  trace  directly  in  the  sire's  line  to  this  strain, 
and  the  champions  that  have  since  become  famous 


THE   GREAT  EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  237 

as  sires  are  line-bred  in  Brilliant  blood  to  a  consid- 
erable degree.  Such  overwhelming  evidence  of  the 
high  merit  of  the  descendants  of  Brilliant  1899  and 
Brilliant  1271  in  the  showring  and  the  stud  warrants 
detailed  consideration  of  these  horses  and  of  the 
methods  used  in  combining  their  blood. 

The  Story  of  Old  Brniiant.— Foaled  in  1867,  Bril- 
liant 1899  was  extensively  used  in  the  stud  of  Ernest 
Perriot,  Sr.,  until  1881.  His  greatest  son,  Brilliant 
1271,  was  foaled  in  1877.  Old  Brilliant  begot  other 
good  sires,  but  his  greatest  honors  come  through  his 
daughters.  Four  mares  sired  by  Brilliant  1899  were 
the  dams  of  Seducteur  8850  (7057),  Tripoli  11110 
(20034),  Marathon  11410  (10386)  and  Brilliant  3d 
11116 — four  of  the  greatest  show  horses  and  sires  of 
the  breed.  Imported  to  America  in  1881  by  Leonard 
Johnson  the  old  horse  was  taken  directly  to  East 
Castle  Eock,  Minn.  Here  he  remained  part  of  a 
year  and  sired  3  purebred  colts.  He  was  sold  in 
1882  to  P.  C.  Fodder,  Independence,  la.  The  horse 
was  15  years  old  when  Mr.  Fockler  bought  him 
for  $2,000,  but  his  vigor  and  vitality  were  such  that 
he  lived  to  be  nearly  30  years  old,  proving  to  be  a 
sure  sire  until  near  the  time  of  his  death.  During 
the  last  few  months  of  his  life  he  became  partially 
paralyzed  in  his  hindquarters  and  it  was  necessary 
to  call  in  the  neighbors  to  help  him  to  his  feet,  after 
which  he  could  walk  around.  Rather  than  see  the 
game  old  sire  suffer  Mr.  Fockler  had  him  killed. 

During  his  service  in  the  stud  at  Independence 
Brilliant  1899  was  bred  only  to  grade  mares.     In- 


238  A   HISTORY    OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

formation  obtained  by  the  Perclieron  Society  of 
America  in  1915  from  Mrs.  P.  C.  Fockler  and  Messrs. 
C.  R.  Kirkner,  R.  F.  French,  Becker,  Myers,  Leming 
and  Stevenson,  all  of  whom  knew  the  horse  and 
owned  colts  by  him,  indicates  conclusively  that  the 
Percheron  breed  has  suffered  a  great  loss  through 
failure  to  put  this  grand  old  sire  at  the  head  of  a 
stud  of  purebred  mares  in  this  country. 

All  of  the  parties  interviewed  remembered  the 
horse  Avell  and  knew  him  as  Old  Brilliant.  They 
knew  nothing  of  the  history-making  character  of 
his  blood  on  the  Percheron  breed,  but  they  were 
unanimous  in  considering  him  the  greatest  horse  ever 
brought  to  their  community.  Colts  sired  by  him 
were  sold  at  remarkable  prices,  considering  the  de- 
pression which  prevailed  in  values  in  the  early  '90  's. 
John  Myers,  a  brother-in-law  of  Mr.  Fockler,  testi- 
fied that  he  sold  a  three-year-old  grade  filly  by  Bril- 
liant 1899  for  $300  when  an  ordinary  work  horse 
could  be  bought  for  $60.  Mr.  Becker  stated  that  he 
sold  a  three-year-old  filly  for  $250  when  values  were 
correspondingly  low.  C.  R.  Kirkner  knew  of  a  Colo- 
rado man  who  came  to  Independence  and  bought 
40  fillies  sired  by  Brilliant;  in  fact,  this  man  bought 
every  filly  he  could  find  by  the  old  sire,  regardless 
of  price.  Mr.  Myers  spoke  of  an  Idaho  ranchman 
who  came  in  and  bought  carloads  of  his  colts,  and 
added,  ''It  did  not  make  any  difference  what  kind 
of  a  mare  was  bred  to  Old  Brilliant,  the  offspring 
was  always  a  typical  Brilliant  colt.''  John  Steven- 
son, an  aged  horseman  who  patronized  the  old  sire 


THE  GREAT   EXPANSION   OF  THE    '80 's  239 

extensively  said:  "Almost  everyone  was  disappoint- 
ed in  the  Brilliant  colts  when  foaled,  as  they  were 
too  small.  They  never  quit  growing,  however,  and 
they  always  retained  that  smoothness  of  form  which 
made  them  real  beauties. '^  Mr.  Ferrell,  in  comment- 
ing on  the  estimate  in  which  the  horse  and  his  de- 
scendants were  held  in  the  community,  remarked 
that  it  was  quite  a  common  thing  to  hear  people 
remark  at  farm  auctions  whenever  an  extra  good 
draft  horse  was  put  up  for  sale,  "  I  '11  bet  that  horse 
has  some  of  Old  Brilliant's  blood  in  him." 

This  testimony  is  enough  to  show  that  the  horse 
was  a  remarkable  sire,  both  in  France  and  in  Amer- 
ica, and  it  is  a  calamity  that  so  great  a  sire  was  not 
found  by  a  breeder  of  Percherons  who  could  have 
put  him  at  the  head  of  a  purebred  stud.  The  tes- 
timony of  men  who  knew  him  at  Independence  was 
that  he  weighed  a  ton  "in  pretty  good  condition," 
and  such  supplementary  information  as  has  been  ob- 
tained indicates  that  he  was  about  16.3  to  17  hands 
in  height  and  weighed  about  1,900  pounds  when  in 
breeding  flesh.  He  was  a  deep-chested,  wide-breast- 
ed horse  of  unusual  style,  symmetry,  finish  and 
quality,  and  with  a  head  whose  contour  and  char- 
acter would  delight  any  Percheron  breeder  living. 

Brilliant  1271. — Generally  considered  as  the  great- 
est sire  ever  used  in  improving  the  Percheron  breed 
in  this  country  and  held  by  the  majority  to  be  the 


240  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

greatest  sire  the  breed  has  ever  known,  this  Brilliant 
1271  owes  no  small  portion  of  his  success  to  the  fact 
that  he  was  for  15  years  at  the  head  of  the  Oaklawn 
stud  with  access  to  probably  the  greatest  group  of 
draft  mares  ever  assembled  by  one  breeder.  He  was 
imported  in  1881  as  a  four-year-old,  but  sired  his 
four  greatest  sons  before  he  left  France.  Fenelon, 
2682  (38)  and  Voltaire  3540  (443)  were  foaled  in 
1880,  and  Gilbert  5154  (461)  and  Briard  5317  (1630) 
in  1882,  before  he  left  France.  It  is  well  to  note  in 
passing  that  the  arguments  of  those  who  contend 
that  young  stallions  do  not  beget  as  excellent  prog- 
eny as  mature  horses  find  here  a  record  in  direct 
conflict  with  their  theory.  Fenelon  and  Voltaire,  two 
remarkable  show  horses  and  sires,  were  begotten 
when  Brilliant  was  but  a  two-year-old.  Seducteur 
8850  and  Brilliant  3d  11116  were  sired  by  Fenelon 
when  he  was  but  a  three-year-old.  There  are  no 
other  horses  with  as  great  show  and  stud  records  as 
these  in  all  of  Brilliant's  progeny. 

Brilliant  1271  came  to  Oaklawn  without  any  spe- 
cial flourish  of  trumpets,  but  was  so  good  in  all- 
around  Percheron  type  and  character  that  Mr.  Dun- 
ham immediately  put  him  into  service  with  Success 
452  and  Vidocq  483  (732),  then  stud  sires  of  proved 
worth. 

In  this  connection  it  is  of  interest  to  give  the  first 

detailed  description  recorded  of  Brilliant  1271;  it 

appears  in  the  Oaklawn  catalog  of  1882  as  follows: 

''Black;  foaled  1877;  imported  1881;  weight  1,850; 
16  hands  high.    Long  and  very  round  body;  extra- 


d  M 


a  "^  - 
^  2  w 

B  ^  P 


^^ 

o  k 
^1 

^  CO 

ci 
j» 

o 
•=1 


1^  w 


o 

c! 

a 
Z  o 


W    : 

^  «  a 

w  ^  O 

s  ^  « 

S  s  w 

E  H  »3 

^  ':  W 


O  S  d  S 
r"  ^  '^  O 

^  2  H  as 


THE   GRExVT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  241 

ordinary  length  of  quarters,  which  are  broad  and 
level;  very  sloping  shoulders  of  unusual  depth;  neck 
rather  short;  medium  throttle;  fine  ear;  wide  be- 
tween the  eyes;  slightly  Eoman  nose;  very  broad 
breast;  short  legs  and  bone  of  uncommon  width;  good 
feet;  immense  stifle  power.  A  horse  with  a  combina- 
tion of  excellencies  throughout. ' ' 

Later  descriptions  give  his  weight  as  a  little  over 
a  ton,  but  the  testimony  of  men  who  knew  him  well 
is  that  he  was  in  show  shape  at  such  weight  and 
that  he  tipped  the  scales  when  in  stud  condition  at 
about  1,900  pounds.  A  better  idea  of  the  horse  can 
be  obtained  by  a  study  of  his  picture,  reproduced 
herewith.  One  thing  is  deserving  of  special  em- 
phasis: Brilliant  1271  was  a  most  impressive  horse 
in  his  general  bearing,  and  masculine  character  was 
emphasized  in  every  line.  He  was  a  dominant,  vig- 
orous, supermasculine  stallion  and  no  one  could 
possible  mistake  his  power.  His  colts  from  the  first 
were  of  outstanding  character,  and  Leonard  John- 
son, who  was  at  that  time  purchaser  for  Mr.  Dun- 
ham in  France,  was  quick  to  appreciate  their  value. 
As  a  result  30  of  his  get  were  imported  to  Oaklawn 
Farm  in  1882.  Brilliant  1271  had  already  been  put 
into  stud  service  at  Oaklawn,  but  these  colts  sired 
in  France  and  those  which  began  to  come  at  Oak- 
lawn Farm  in  1883  quickly  convinced  Mr.  Dunham 
that  he  had  secured  a  sire  of  incalculable  value.  He 
immediately  extended  his  use  in  the  stud  and  from 
that  time  until  his  death  he  was  made  the  premier 
stallion  of  the  Oaklawn  stud. 

Prepotency  of  Brilliant  Blood. — The  popularity  of 


242  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  Brilliant  blood  and  its  dominance  in  the  '80  ^s, 
'90 's  and  to  the  present  day  in  the  Percheron  breed 
cannot  be  held  to  have  been  accidental.  Percherons 
were  measured  then  as  now  by  their  excellence  in 
conformation,  underpinning,  quality,  style  and 
action.  That  the  vast  majority  of  the  prize-winners 
in  all  leading  shows,  abroad  and  in  America,  were 
strongly  bred  in  this  blood,  is  proof  that  such  horses 
had  the  highest  individual  excellence.  Besides,  it 
was  found  that  they  bred  on  with  a  high  degree  of 
certainty.  It  was  this  that  soon  led  men  to  value 
the  Brilliant  blood  very  highly,  and  it  is  because  of 
the  two  essentials  of  sheer  individual  merit  and 
great  prepotency  that  Brilliant  dominates  the  Per- 
cheron breed  as  much  as  Baron's  Pride  does  the 
Clydesdale,  or  Champion  of  England  the  Shorthorn. 
The  most  remarkable  show  horses  of  the  '80 's, 
which  have  since  demonstrated  the  tremendous 
carrying  power  that  spells  prepotency,  were  Bril- 
liant 3d  11116,  Seducteur  8850  and  Marathon  11410. 
All  three  were  sired  by  sons  of  Brilliant  1271  out  of 
daughters  of  Brilliant  1899.  The  blending  of  the 
blood  of  Brilliant  1899  and  his  son.  Brilliant  1271, 
both  splendid  individuals,  resulted  in  these  three 
which  were  all  greater  as  individuals  than  either 
Brilliant,  and  extraordinarily  prepotent.  Tripoli 
11110  (20034),  almost  as  great,  was  bred  in  exactly 
the  same  way,  but  was  by  still  another  son  of  Bril- 
liant 1271  and  out  of  another  daughter  of  Brilliant 
1899.  Villers  13169  (8081),  a  fifth  grandson  of  Bril- 
liant 1271  through  still  another  son,  Briard  5317,  is 


THE   GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  243 

the  only  one  of  this  remarkable  galaxy  of  grandsons 
through  which  the  blood  of  the  two  Brilliants  has 
largely  dominated  the  breed  that  is  not  out  of  a 
daughter  of  Brilliant  1899.  He  is  closely  allied  in 
breeding,  however,  as  his  dam,  Eobine  (5697),  was 
a  sister  to  the  dam  of  Brilliant  1899. 

Three  other  noted  prize-winners  of  the  same  period 
■ — Producteur  4280  (68),  winner  of  first  prizes  both 
abroad  and  in  America,  La  Ferte  5144  (452),  a  show 
horse  of  extraordinary  merit,  and  Cheri  5079  (2423), 
a  noted  winner  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean — have  not 
been  nearly  so  noted  as  sires  and  seldom  appear  now 
in  the  blood  of  winning  horses.  None  was  line-bred 
to  any  such  degree  as  the  ^ve  previously  named, 
and  only  one.  La  Ferte,  was  of  Brilliant  blood,  he 
being  out  of  a  daughter  of  Brilliant  1899. 

The  conclusion  which  must  be  drawn  is  that  the 
accumulation  of  the  characters  which  made  both 
Brilliant  1899  and  Brilliant  1271  valuable  as  indi- 
viduals and  as  sires,  by  the  expedient  of  combining 
their  blood  through  line-breeding  made  their  de- 
scendants extraordinarily  valuable,  not  only  because 
of  unusual  excellence  as  draft  horses,  but  because 
of  the  power  to  transmit  that  excellence  which  we 
call  prepotency.  Ernest  Perriot,  Sr.,  has  the  honor 
of  having  brought  about  the  breeding  of  all  five  of 
these  line-bred  sires  of  great  note,  and  there  is  no 
question  but  that  he  has  exerted  a  greater  influence 
on  the  Percheron  breed  since  1880  than  any  other 
breeder  in  France  or  America. 

Developments  at  Oaklawn. — With  three  of  the 


244  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

greatest  sires  of  the  time  and  a  goodly  band  of  mares 
in  his  possession  Mr.  Dunham  had  optimistic  dreams 
of  breeding  and  raising  annually  a  splendid  group  of 
colts.  The  troubles  which  forever  beset  breeders  of 
draft  horses  who  try  to  do  things  in  a  wholesale 
way  soon  made  their  appearance,  however.  Mr. 
Dunham  raised  31  colts  foaled  in  1883,  but  the  fol- 
lowing spring  when  he  had  approximately  150  mares, 
a  large  proportion  of  them  of  breeding  age,  he  raised 
but  13  colts.  Abortion  tells  the  story.  In  1885  he 
reared  32  colts  from  150  eligible  mares,  and  in  1886 
got  but  20.  Probably  the  mares  were  in  too  high 
condition.  Anyhow  they  did  not  as  a  rule  con- 
ceive for  the  first  two  or  three  years  after  importa- 
tion and  the  foals  produced  by  those  that  did 
breed  were  inclined  to  be  so  lacking  in  vitality  that 
the  mortality  was  extremely  high.  He  also  learned 
that  abortion  spread  rapidly  among*  mares  kept 
in  large  bands;  that  navel  ill  was  an  ever-present 
source  of  trouble;  and  that  idle  mares  after  becom- 
ing acclimated  were  inclined  to  become  so  fat  on 
rich  bluegrass  pasture  that  too  high  a  proportion 
proved  to  be  irregular  breeders.  Profiting,  however, 
by  these  early  experiences  the  present  Oaklawn  man- 
agement is  meeting  with  better  success  along  this 
line.  However,  at  the  time  of  which  we  write 
Mr.  Dunham,  Sr.,  reluctantly  came  to  the  decision 
that  Percheron  breeding  would  have  to  be  done  by 
carrying  the  mares  in  smaller  groups  and  on  a  basis 
where  their  work  on  the  farm  would  serve  the 
double  purpose  of  keeping  them  in  better  breeding 


THE   GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  245 

condition  and  reducing  the  cost  of  their  keep.  By 
1887  he  had  sold  many  mares  to  men  whom  he  had 
interested  in  Percheron  breeding,  and  he  also  under- 
took the  experiment  of  putting  some  out  on  lease. 

Results  Despite  Difficulties. — Despite  these  re- 
verses, which  eliminated  all  hope  of  profit  from  his 
Percheron  breeding  operations,  Mr.  Dunham  perse- 
vered and  made  some  headway  from  1887  on.  In 
1887  he  raised  57  colts,  in  1888  69,  in  1889  51  and  in 
1890  44.  A  disastrous  experiment  in  feeding  silage 
in  1890  cost  him  several  mares  and  a  large  number 
of  colts,  leading  to  the  conclusion  that  silage  was 
dangerous,  as  the  presence  of  a  little  mold,  harm- 
less to  cattle,  was  sure  death  to  unborn  foals  and 
very  dangerous  to  the  mares.  In  none  of  these  years 
did  he  succeed  in  rearing  more  than  one  colt  for 
every  three  mares;  in  1890  he  had  192  mares,  most 
of  them  of  breeding  age,  yet  raised  only  44  colts. 

Not  many  of  the  colts  bred  at  Oaklawn  were  ex- 
hibited, and  consequently  it  has  been  difficult  to 
obtain  accurate  information  regarding  them.  Many  of 
the  best  colts  were  sold  as  yearlings,  and  Mr.  Dunham 
had  unusual  facilities  for  the  selection  of  other  show 
horses  because  of  his  heavy  annual  importations  of 
the  best  obtainable  in  the  Perche.  The  most  satis- 
factory information  regarding  the  estimate  placed 
on  the  American-bred  horses  raised  at  Oaklawn  is 
furnished  by  the  prices  paid  for  them.  It  must  be 
remembered  that  purchasers  going  there  had  the 
opportunity  of  making  selections  from  a  large  num- 
ber of  high-class  imported  horses  or  from  the  colts 


246  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

bred  at  Oaklawn;  the  fact  that  so  many  bought  colts 
bred  and  raised  there,  at  good  prices,  is  evidence  of 
the  high  character  of  the  progeny. 

Through  the  courtesy  of  W.  S.  Dunham  we  have 
been  given  access  to  the  records  which  include  all 
of  the  original  Oaklawn  Farm  entries  in  regard  to 
sales.  Many  animals  were  sold  in  pairs  or  in  groups 
containing  three  or  more,  and  it  has  been  necessary 
to  eliminate  these  on  account  of  inability  to  deter- 
mine the  value  of  each.  All  horses  sold  individually 
for  cash  (no  trades  involved)  have  been  listed,  so 
far  as  important  sires  are  concerned,  and  the  cold 
figures  give  conclusive  proof  of  the  esteem  in  which 
American  breeders  held  the  colts  bred  and  reared 
at  Oaklawn.  Prices  and  sires,  given  in  order  of  their 
use,  are  as  follows: 

Vidocq  483:  2  stallions  sold  for  $1,770,  an  average 
of  $885 ;  8  mares  sold  for  $6,170,  an  average  of  $771 ; 
10  head  sold  for  $7,940,  an  average  of  $794. 

Brilliant  1271:  64  stallions  sold  for  $60,275,  an 
average  of  $941;  44  mares  sold  for  $31,975,  an  aver- 
age of  $726;  108  head  sold  for  $92,250,  an  average 
of  $854. 

Brilliant  3d  11116:  2  stallions  sold  for  $2,100,  an 
average  of  $1,050;  2  mares  sold  for  $1,150,  an  aver- 
age of  $575;  4  head  sold  for  $3,250,  an  average  of 
$812. 

Aiglon  13145:  14  stallions  sold  for  $15,100,  an 
average  of  $1,078;  9  mares  sold  for  $3,850,  an  aver- 
age of  $427;  23  head  sold  for  $18,950,  an  average 
of  $824. 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  247 

Introuvable  16875:  19  stallions  sold  for  $18,000, 
an  average  of  $947 ;  7  mares  sold  for  $2,700,  an  aver- 
age of  $385;  26  head  sold  for  $20,700,  an  average 
of  $796. 

Villers  13169:  9  stallions  sold  for  $9,400,  an  aver- 
age of  $1,044;  5  mares  sold  for  $1,925,  an  average  of 
$385;  14  head  sold  for  $11,325,  an  average  of  $808. 

Remembering  that  a  large  proportion  of  these  ani- 
mals were  sold  during  the  '90 's,  when  values  were 
greatly  depressed,  and  that  by  far  the  greater  pro- 
portion were  sold  as  one-,  two-  and  three-year-olds 
it  will  be  realized  at  once  that  Mr.  Dunham 's  Amer- 
ican-bred colts  were  highly  valued  by  breeders.  Of 
the  64  stallions  by  Brilliant  4  were  sold  as  weanlings, 
23  as  yearlings,  18  as  two-year-olds,  8  as  three-year- 
olds,  and  only  11  as  four-year-olds  or  over.  Of  the 
44  mares  listed  5  went  as  weanlings,  16  as  yearlings, 
15  as  two-year-olds,  1  as  a  three-year-old  and  7  at 
greater  ages. 

Great  Maxes  of  Oaklawn  Stud. — It  is  difficult  to 
particularize  as  to  the  mares  used  in  the  Oaklawn 
stud  at  this  time.  Among  those  of  unusual  excel- 
lence we  may  name  Janecia  2768  (1368).  Her  colt 
foaled  in  1886,  Brannock  5688,  was  sold  for  $1,200 
as  a  two-year-old,  and  her  next  colt,  Belidor  9520, 
foaled  in  1888,  brought  $2,500  as  a  yearling.  Both 
were  by  Brilliant  1271.  She  was  a  fairly  regular 
breeder,  producing  7  colts  in  10  years,  all  but  one 
of  which  were  stallions.  Individual  prices  on  the 
others  could  not  be  ascertained,  but  her  colts  were 
all  of  extra  good  character.    Constance  1478  (1425), 


248  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

imported  in  1881,  was  another  extra  good  mare  that 
did  well  for  Mr.  Dunham.  One  of  her  colts,  Wolford 
2274,  foaled  in  1883,  was  sold  as  a  three-year-old 
for  $1,700;  another,  Bancroft  3367,  foaled  in  1884, 
was  sold  as  a  four-year-old  for  $2,000.  She  too  was 
a  regular  producer,  raising  9  foals  in  12  years,  5 
of  which  were  fillies;  all  her  foals  except  the  last 
one  were  by  Brilliant  1271  and  all  were  of  more  than 
average  value.  One  of  Constance's  daughters,  Ei- 
vonia  2213,  was  in  a  group  of  15  mares  sold  in  1885 
to  E.  A.  Hitchcock  &  W.  B.  Collier  of  St.  Louis  for 
$14,400.  Linda  2751  (1521),  imported  in  1883,  was 
another  profitable  mare.  Her  first  colt,  Bassanio 
4339,  sired  by  Brilliant  1271  and  foaled  in  1885,  was 
sold  as  a  two-year-old  for  $1,400.  She  continued  to 
breed  with  regularity  till  1898,  producing  10  colts 
in  14  years,  all  above  the  average.  Six  were  stal- 
lions and  4  were  mares.  Faustine  1314  (1431)  was 
another  excellent  show  mare  and  her  colts  though 
few  were  good.  She  was  about  16  hands  high, 
weighed  1,700  pounds,  and  although  a  failure  at 
first  because  she  did  not  raise  a  colt  from  1881  to 
1884,  she  later  produced  exceptionally  good  ones: 
Barcino  4341,  foaled  1885,  was  sold  as  a  yearling  for 
$1,000,  and  her  next,  Brastin  5689,  foaled  in  1886, 
brought  $1,200  as  a  two-year-old.  Both  were  by 
Brilliant  1271.  She  raised  but  6  colts  in  16  years, 
however,  and  so  cannot  be  considered  a  profitable 
matron. 

Peerless  744,  a  medium-sized,  symmetrical  brood 
mare,  raised  3  colts  for  Mr,  Dunham  and  was  then 


THE   GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  249 

sold  to  Ballachey  Bros.,  Brantford,  Ontario,  and 
raised  8  in  10  years.  Eacliel  1461  (1460)  was  the 
dam  of  Bartlioldi  3666,  sired  by  Brilliant  1271  and 
sold  as  a  two-year-old  for  $1,500;  she  was  a  regular 
producer  of  good  ones,  raising  5  by  Brilliant  1271. 
Delora  2756  (1530)  was  the  dam  of  8  good  ones,  the 
last  of  which,  Ali  20012,  was  placed  at  the  head  of 
Grant  Caldwell's  stud  at  Dana,  111.,  where  he  sired 
Ali  2d  30783,  champion  American-bred  stallion  at  the 
International  Live  Stock  Exposition  in  1903.  Bril- 
lantine  5675  (6948)  was  a  great  mare  individually 
and  raised  good  colts,  but  not  many  of  them.  Zither 
2283  (Lisette  36)  was  another  valuable  brood  mare. 
Not  the  least  was  Absala  5651  (6718),  the  dam  of 
Linda  12986,  foaled  in  1889.  Linda  was  the  dam 
of  9  colts,  foaled  in  11  years,  1892  to  1902  inclusive, 
yet  won  championship  honors  at  the  International 
in  1901.  One  of  Linda's  colts.  Allegro  20046,  sold 
as  a  three-year-old  in  1899,  when  values  w^ere  sub- 
merged almost  to  the  point  of  extinction,  for  $1,150, 
and  she  left  many  others  as  good.  Comment  on  other 
mares  might  be  added,  but  as  we  shall  come  back 
to  Oaklawn  mares  from  time  to  time  in  considering 
other  studs. 

Oaklawn  Influence. — Mr.  Dunham's  aggressive 
work  as  a  breeder,  exhibitor  and  advertiser  of  Per- 
cherons  did  more  to  hasten  the  development  of  Per- 
cheron  breeding  than  any  other  factor  of  this  period. 
He  exhibited  at  the  Chicago  shows,  sent  a  strong 
exhibit  to  the  New  Orleans  Exposition  in  1885,  and 
was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  first  show  held  by 


250  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  Perclieron  Society  of  America  in  1886.*  His 
horses  were  well  toward  the  top  in  all  shows,  his 
advertising  was  pushed  in  every  legitimate  manner, 
and  his  farm  and  personality  appealed  to  men  of 
wealth  who  were  interested  in  farming.  Prom  the 
very  nature  of  his  operations  it  is  hard  to  distin- 
guish between  his  work  as  an  importer  and  as  a 
breeder.  Sales  frequently  carried  animals  of  his 
own  breeding  as  well  as  imported  horses. 

Vidocq  483  was  champion  at  the  Chicago  show 
in  1881;  Brilliant  1271  was  first  as  aged  stallion  and 
champion  at  the  New  Orleans  Exposition  in  1885, 
where  he  was  champion  over  all  breeds;  Producteur 
4280  (68)  (aged  heavy-weight  class),  Gilbert  5154 
(461)  (four-year-old  heavy-weight  class),  Tuduc 
5156  (474)  (three-year-old  light-weight  class),  and 
Conde  5163  (two-year-old),  were  all  first-prize  win- 
ners in  the  great  Perclieron  Society  show  in  1886 
at  Chicago;  Ercilla  2211  (1429)  (five-year-old  heavy 
class),  Bellora  2237  (1415)  (four-year-old  heavy 
class),  Giara  2755  (1531)  (four-year-old  light  class), 
Rose  4344  (4899)  (three-year-old  heavy  class),  and 
Belle  4352  (4852)  (two-year-old)  were  all  first-prize 


*At  the  Percheron  Society  show  at  Chicago  in  1S86  the  five-, 
four-  and  three-year-old  stallion  classes  were  divided  into  heavy- 
and  light-weig-ht  groups  as  follows:  five-year-olds,  1,800  pounds 
or  over,  and  under  1,800  pounds;  four-year-olds,  1,750  pounds  or 
over,  and  under  1,7C0  pounds;  three-year-olds  1,700  pounds  or 
over,  and  under  1,700  pounds.  Mares  of  same  ages  were  also 
divided  as  follows:  five-year-olds,  1,750  pounds  or  over,  and 
under  1,750  pounds;  four-year-olds,  1,700  pounds  or  over,  and 
under  1,700  pounds;  three-year-olds,  1,600  pounds  or  over,  and 
under  1,600  pounds.  The  result  was  to  double  the  number  of 
prizes  given,  and  to  classify  the  animals  more  exactly  into  the 
large-  and  medium-sized  types.  For  convenience  we  refer  to 
these    merely    as    the    heavy-    and    light-weight    classes. 


THE   GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80 's  251 

mares  in  their  respective  classes  at  the  same  show. 
Brilliant  1271  was  awarded  first  in  the  class  for 
the  sweepstakes  stallion  with  five  of  his  get  at  this 
show. 

In  1887  at  the  horse  show  held  in  connection  with 
the  Fat  Stock  Show  at  Chicago  Oaklawn  won  first 
on  Pacha  6977  (4358),  a  three-year-old,  first  on  Gas- 
tronome 7058  (8952),  a  two-year-old,  and  first  on 
Julia  5676  (7015),  a  two-year-old  mare,  besides 
numerous  prizes  below  first.  Brilliant  1271  was 
again  first  in  class  for  stallion  and  four  of  his  get. 
In  1888  at  the  same  show  Oaklawn  won  first  in  aged 
stallion  class  on  La  Ferte  5144,  subsequently  made 
senior  champion  over  all  breeds,  first  in  the  three- 
year-old  class  on  Dompteur  9201  (9886),  and  lesser 
prizes  in  various  classes.  In  1889  Fenelon  2682,  then 
a  seasoned  sire  9  years  of  age,  won  first  in  the  aged 
class,  and  Oaklawn  also  won  first  in  the  yearling 
class,  with  seconds  in  the  three-  and  two-year-old 
stallion  classes.  Oaklawn  also  won  firsts  in  the  two 
mare  classes  on  Vanity  2275,  bred  at  Oaklawn,  and 
Bertha  5340  (7008),  the  latter  winning  first  in  the 
class  for  mare  with  colt  at  side.  In  1890  Oaklawn 
did  not  exhibit  at  the  American  Horse  Show,  but 
two  grandsons  of  Brilliant  1271,  Seducteur  8850 
and  Tripoli  11110,  won  the  first  places  in  the  aged 
and  three-year-old  stallion  classes,  and  another 
grandson.  Baccarat,  11326,  was  second  in  the  three- 
year-old  class.  Each  was  shown  by  a  different  ex- 
hibitor. Albatros  13062,  a  son  of  Seducteur  8850, 
was  the  first-prize  two-year-old  and  Kirsch  2d  11837, 


252  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

by  Kirsch  7196  by  Confident  3647  by  Brilliant  1271, 
was  first  in  the  yearling  class,  so  that  the  firsts  in  the 
yearling  and  two-year-old  classes  were  both  won  by 
great-grandsons  of  Brilliant  1271.  Every  first  was 
won  by  a  grandson  or  great-grandson  of  Brilliant 
1271,  a  record  which  was  duly  advertised  by  Mr. 
Dunham,  as  Brilliant  1271  was  then  in  active  service 
at  the  head  of  Oaklawn  stud. 

Oaklawn  Sales  of  '80 's. — Mr.  Dunham's  sales  ex- 
tended over  a  wide  area,  and  he  was  very  influential 
in  developing  breeding  interests  in  other  states.  He 
had  invested  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars 
in  Percheron  mares  by  1890,  and  while  the  returns 
were  not  at  all  commensurate  he  had  confidence  in 
the  ultimate  development  of  Percheron  breeding  in 
America.  While  his  chief  attention  was  centered 
on  sales  of  stallions,  he  did  all  he  could  to  encourage 
breeders  in  founding  studs  of  Percherons  in  this 
country.  To  ilhistrate  how  widely  the  mares  were 
distributed  it  may  be  noted  that  the  287  mares  out 
of  which  Mr.  Dunham  bred  colts  between  1870  and 
1900,  except  those  retained  or  which  died,  were  sold 
to  88  different  buyers.  Prominent  purchasers  of 
mares  in  this  epoch  were:  Speedwell  Farms,  Lyn- 
don, Vt.,  whose  operations  are  still  continued;  E.  A. 
Hitchcock  &  W.  B.  Collier,  St.  Louis,  Mo.,  whose 
studs  were  soon  dispersed;  G.  W.  Wilcoxen,  Canton, 
111.,  Avliose  good  Percherons  have  been  of  inestimable 
value  in  developing  draft  horse  interests  in  Fulton 
Co.,  111.;  H.  A.  Babcock,  Neenah,  Wis.,  who  made 
his  money  in  market  horse  operations  and  bought 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  253 

his  Perclierons  with  seasoned  judgment;  Willard  & 
Fuller,  Mapleton,  Minn.;  The  Minnesota  Percheron 
Horse  Co.,  Cazenovia,  Minn.;  T.  &  J.  Harper,  Paw 
Paw,  111.;  W.  J.  Jordan  &  Son,  Newbern,  Va.;  Par- 
sons &  Baldwin,  Watervliet,  Mich.;  W.  H.  Penny, 
Stronghurst,  111.,  and  many  others. 

Oaklawn  sold  more  history-making  sires  than  any 
other  establishment  during  this  period.  Among 
those  which  have  exerted  a  far-reaching  influence 
on  the  breed  in  this  country  were  the  following: 

Confident  3647  (397),  sold  to  R.  Nagle  &  Sons, 
Grand  Ridge,  111.,  as  a  four-year-old  for  $3,500. 

Fenelon  2682  (38),  sold  to  R.  Kellogg,  Green  Bay, 
Wis.,  as  a  four-year-old  for  $3,500.  He  was  subse- 
quently sold  to  W.  R.  Allen  of  St.  Louis  for 
$6,000,  and  later  headed  the  stud  of  Thomas  W.  Pal- 
mer, then  President  of  the  American  Percheron 
Breeders'  Association. 

Gilbert  5154  (461),  sold  to  Leonard  Johnson  as  a 
four-year-old  for  $3,200. 

Briard  5317  (1630),  sold  to  Leonard  Johnson  as  a 
four-year-old  for  $5,000.  (All  of  these  were  imported 
sons  of  Brilliant  1271). 

Producteur  4280  (68),  sold  to  Brickman  &  Baker, 
Rednerville,  Ontario. 

Other  sires  sold  at  this  time  that  were  of  great 
value  were: 

Bavardo  7236,  sold  to  J.  H.  Smith,  Milo,  la.,  in 
1888  as  a  yearling  for  $1,200  and  used  chiefly  on 
grade  mares;  Bendago  11807,  sold  to  G.  S.  Hanna, 
Bloomington,  111.,  in  1890  as  a  yearling  for  $1,200, 


254  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

heading  this  stud  for  a  time  and  leaving  36  pure- 
bred colts;  Belidor  9520,  sold  to  F.  H.  Redfield,  Ba- 
tavia,  N.  Y.,  in  1889  as  a  yearling  for  $2,500  and 
being  used  on  some  purebred  mares,  though  not 
many;  Breme  7229,  sold  to  the  Little  Missouri  Horse 
Co.  in  February,  1888,  when  about  10  months  old, 
for  $700,  leaving  some  purebred  colts,  but  being  used 
chiefly  on  grade  mares.  The  last  four  were  bred  at 
Oaklawn,  and  were  sired  by  Brilliant  1271.  There 
were  numerous  others  of  almost,  if  not  quite,  equal 
rank. 

Mr.  Dunham's  Influence. — One  of  the  leading  fea- 
tures of  Mr.  Dunham's  work  at  this  time  was  its 
effect  on  others.  He  demonstrated  conclusively  that 
Percherons  paid.  He  proved  that  Percherons  could 
be  bred  in  America,  and  sold  at  early  ages  and  high 
prices.  He  tested  out  to  his  own  satisfaction  and 
for  the  benefit  of  others  the  impracticability  of  un- 
dertaking to  keep  Percheron  mares  in  large  bands, 
idle,  for  the  sole  purpose  of  rearing  colts.  He  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  Percheron  breeding  must  be 
carried  out  on  farms  where  the  mares  could  do  work 
enough  to  pay  their  way  and  where  their  prolificacy 
would  be  increased  by  reason  of  healthier  breeding 
condition  induced  by  moderate  work.  He  advertised 
early  and  late,  more  freely  and  with  better  results 
than  any  horseman  of  his  own  or  earlier  times,  and 
he  popularized  Percherons  on  the  soundest  of  all 
platforms — ''their  utility  value  on  the  farm,  and 
their  ability  to  raise  the  value  of  common  horses 
from  one-fourth  to  one-third  by  the  first  cross,  and 


THE  GREAT   EXPANSION   OF  THE    '80 's  255 

to  continue  raising  the  market  value  by  each  subse- 
quent cross." 

Ellwood  Green. — It  is  doubtful  whether  the  history 
of  any  breed  furnishes  a  parallel  to  the  spectacular 
career  of  W.  L.  Ellwood  in  Percherons.  Backed  by 
his  father,  I.  L.  Ellwood,  a  wealthy  manufacturer 
of  barbed  wire,  W.  L.  Ellwood  began  his  operations 
in  1881  by  importing  a  few  Percherons.  A  few  more 
were  brought  over  in  1882,  1883,  1884  and  1885,  but 
in  1886  he  began  in  earnest  by  importing  164  stal- 
lions and  100  mares.  His  heavy  importations  con- 
tinued during  the  next  four  years.  He  never  hesi- 
tated at  price  in  his  efforts  to  obtain  the  best  horses 
the  Perche  possessed.  The  firm,  consisting  of  W.  L. 
Ellwood  and  his  father,  who  gave  little  attention  to 
the  horse  business,  acquired  about  4,000  acres  of 
land  near  DeKalb,  111.  This  was  divided  into  six 
large,  well-equipped  farms,  which  were  first  oper- 
ated with  grade  Percheron  mares.  These  were  later 
replaced  by  purebreds.  Excellent  sale  barns  and 
offices  were  built  in  DeKalb,  and  a  thoroughgoing 
business  organization  was  developed  to  handle  the 
farm  operations,  and  the  breeding,  importation  and 
sale  of  Percherons. 

Mr.  Ellwood  decided  at  an  early  date  that  Perche- 
rons were  the  most  desirable  for  American  condi- 
tions. In  one  of  his  early  catalogs  he  said:  '^I  am 
sincere  in  my  belief  that  it  has  been  fully  demon- 
strated that  for  individual  merit,  and  powers  of 
transmitting  same  to  his  progeny,  the  Percheron 
shows  a  purity  of  breeding  that  is  unapproachable, 


256  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

justifying  my  use  of  the  quotation  that  'to  compare 
him  with  other  draft  breeds  is  like  comparing  water 
with  other  elements,  or  gold  with  other  metals.'  " 

With  this  idea  uppermost  in  his  mind,  Mr.  EUwood 
bought  the  best  horses  he  could  find,  and  he  had  the 
advantage  of  the  assistance  of  Thomas  Sloan,  an  ex- 
perienced and  discriminating  judge.  Practically  un- 
limited means  made  it  possible  for  him  to  outbid 
the  other  buyers  who  were  then  competing  with  him 
in  the  Perclie,  and  even  Mr.  Dunham  was  hard 
pressed  to  hold  his  own  in  the  showring  during  the 
Ellwood  days.  All  told,  the  Ellwoods  imported  about 
800  Percherons,  and  bred  during  the  first  10  years 
65  stallions  and  67  mares,  or  a  total  of  132  head  by 
1890.  This  brought  them  into  second  place  in  the 
Percheron  operations  of  this  epoch,  both  as  import- 
ers and  as  breeders. 

Sires  Used  by  Mr.  Ellwood. — Some  of  the  greatest 
show  horses  of  the  breed  were  imported  and  ex- 
hibited by  Mr.  Ellwood,  who  was  quick  to  realize 
the  advantage  of  this  form  of  advertising.  In  1886 
at  the  first  great  show  held  by  the  American  Per- 
cheron Horse  Breeders'  Association  he  won  second 
in  the  aged  stallion  heavy-weight  class  on  Cheri 
5079  (2423),  champion  at  the  government  show  at 
Chartres,  France,  in  1885;  second  on  Phebi  5048 
(329)  in  the  four-year-old  heavy-weight  class;  first 
on  King  of  Perche  4975  (6738)  in  the  four-year-old 
light-weight  class;  first  on  Extrador  4979  (6890)  in 
the  three-year-old  heavy-weight  class;  second  on 
Paolo  5025  (4914)  in  the  two-year-old  class.    He  also 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  257 

won  second  on  Queen  of  Perche  5056  (6740)  in  the 
aged  mare  class  for  heavy-weights,  this  mare  having 
won  championship  at  the  Perclieron  Society  of 
France  show  at  Nogent  in  June  of  that  year.  These 
winnings  and  others  were  enough  to  make  Ellwood 
Green  widely  advertised,  for  cases  are  few  and  far 
between  where  new  exhibitors  break  into  the  top 
ranks  at  the  very  outset  to  so  great  an  extent. 

Cheri  and  Seducteur. — Cheri  was  the  first  noted 
horse  used  at  Ellwood  Green,  and  it  was  most  unfor- 
tunate that  high  condition  inhibited  his  career  in  the 
stud.  He  sired  but  17  stallions  and  22  mares  during 
his  service  in  1885,  1886,  1887  and  1888.  He  died 
in  1888.  King  of  Perche  4975  (6738)  was  still  more 
unfortunate;  he  also  died  in  1888  with  but  9  stallions 
and  4  mares  to  his  credit.  The  loss  of  these  horses, 
probably  largely  due  to  too  high  condition  main- 
tained for  too  long  a  period,  was  a  distinct  injury  to 
Perclieron  interests  in  America.  Cheri  was  a  most 
remarkable  horse.  Foaled  in  1881  and  imported  in 
1885,  he  was  about  17  hands  in  height,  weighed  over 
a  ton,  and  was  a  compact,  well-proportioned  stallion 
with  good  style,  finish  and  action.  He  was  gray  in 
color,  heavy-boned,  but  with  excellent  quality,  and 
such  colts  as  he  did  get  were  good  ones.  He  too 
was  line-bred,  being  sired  by  a  grandson  of  Coco  2d 
(714)  out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d,  and  had  his 
career  in  the  stud  been  longer  continued  much  bene- 
fit to  the  breed  would  have  accrued.  King  of  Perche 
was  a  marvelously  finished  show  horse,  but  lacked 
in  size. 


258  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Urbain  6805  (5680),  foaled  in  1883  and  imported 
in  1887,  was  also  used  at  the  head  of  the  stud,  and 
sired  11  stallions  and  13  mares.  He  was  a  rugged, 
big  horse,  very  good  throughout.  He  won  first  at 
the  national  show  at  Rennes,  France,  in  1887  and 
third  in  the  aged  stallion  class  at  the  American 
Horse  Show,  Chicago,  in  1890.  Rigilo  4980  (2103) 
was  another  very  good  horse,  foaled  in  1883  and 
imported  in  1886,  that  proved  to  be  a  very  good 
breeder.  He  was.  first  at  the  Illinois  State  Fair  in 
1889  in  the  class  for  stallion  and  five  of  his  get. 

Seducteur  8850  was  probably  the  greatest  stock 
horse  ever  used  at  Ellwood  Green.  He  was  first  in 
the  two-year-old  class  at  the  show  of  the  Societe 
Hippique  Percheronne  in  1886,  and  was  second  at 
the  same  show  in  1888,  being  beaten  only  by  his  half- 
brother  Brilliant  3d  11116.  In  1890  Seducteur  won 
first  at  the  American  Horse  Show  at  Chicago,  and 
one  of  his  colts.  Albatross  13062  (30051),  won  first 
in  the  two-year-old  class.  Seducteur  also  won  in 
the  class  for  stallion  and  three  of  his  get.  The  ex- 
cessively high  condition  in  which  he  was  kept  from 
1886  to  1890  later  affected  his  breeding  powers,  and 
he  was  a  poor  getter  throughout  his  life.  His  colts, 
however,  were  so  extraordinarily  good  that  he  was 
valued  very  highly  and  was  subsequently  at  the  head 
of  two  other  purebred  studs.  No  sire  used  in  the 
west  in  the  past  25  years  stands  higher  than  Seduc- 
teur in  the  estimation  of  American  breeders.  In- 
dividually he  was  large,  standing  about  17  hands 
high  and  weighing  considerably  over  2,100  pounds 


# 


SEDUCTEUR  8850  (7087)  ITRST-PRIZE  TWO-YEAR-OLD.  PERCHEROX  SOCIETY 
OF  FRANCE  SHOW  IN  1886;  FIRST- PRIZE  AGED  STAUI^ION  AND  WINNER 
OF  GET-OF-SIRE  PRIZE  AT  CHICAGO  IN   1890. 


THE  GREAT   EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  259 

in  show  condition.  He  was  of  the  strong,  sturdy 
type  with  extra  heavy  bone,  and  was  a  very  massive, 
deep-middled,  strong-backed  horse,  with  extra  good 
loin  and  a  long,  level  croup.  He  stood  well  on  his 
underpinning  and  was  an  up-headed,  stylish  horse, 
lacking  a  trifle  in  finish  about  the  head  and  neck, 
but  very  masculine.  He  was  used  by  Mr.  Ellwood  till 
about  1893,  when  he  was  sold  to  William  Goodwin  & 
Son  of  Benson,  Minn.  Here  he  was  used  chiefly  on 
grade  mares.  The  Goodwins  in  turn  sold  him  to 
parties  near  Malvern,  la.,  about  1896  or  '97,  and 
here  again  he  was  used  chiefly  on  grade  mares, 
though  he  did  sire  three  purebred  colts  during  the 
two  or  three  years  he  stood  there.  He  was  subse- 
quently found  and  purchased  by  H.  G.  McMillan  of 
Lakewood  Farm,  Rock  Eapids,  la.,  and  his  later 
history  will  be  considered  in  connection  with  that 
stud. 

Mares  in  Stud. — Mr.  Ellwood 's  operations  in  Per- 
cherons  ceased  about  1898,  and  it  is  impossible  to 
obtain  exact  inventory  figures  on  the  number  of 
mares  owned  at  different  periods.  An  analysis  of 
the  catalogs  issued  gives  the  number  of  mares  owned 
at  different  times,  and  the  records  in  the  offices  of 
the  Percheron  society  show  the  number  of  colts 
raised:  In  1887  he  had  144  mares  and  recorded  16 
stallion  colts  and  10  filly  foals  as  bred  by  himself;  in 
1888  he  had  126  mares  and  recorded  9  colts  and  12 
fillies;  in  1889  he  had  129  mares  and  recorded  18 
colts  and  16  fillies;  in  1890  he  had  94  mares  and 
recorded  13  colts  and  10  fillies.    It  will  be  noted  that 


260  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  percentage  of  foals  to  mares  owned  was  approxi- 
mately 25  per  cent.  It  must  be  remembered  of  course 
that  in  1887  and  1888  many  of  the  mares  were  too 
young  to  foal.  In  1890  most  of  the  mares  were  old 
enough  to  raise  colts,  but  even  then  the  percentage 
was  very  small.  Part  of  the  trouble  was  in  the 
mares,  for  while  Mr.  Ellwood  as  a  whole  had  a  high- 
class  lot  of  mares  in  size  and  in  draft  type,  a  good 
many  of  them  lacked  feminine  character,  being  very 
massive  with  more  draft  type  than  brood  mare  pat- 
tern. Another  trouble  was  in  the  stallions.  Seduc- 
teur,  relied  upon  in  1889  and  later,  was  not  sure. 
The  acclimation  troubles  which  often  beset  im- 
ported animals  undoubtedly  hindered  many  of  the 
imported  mares  from  raising  colts  for  the  first  few 
years  after  importation.  Queen  of  Perche  5056 
(6740),  Mr.  Ellwood 's  greatest  mare,  a  winner  in 
France  and  America,  raised  but  4  foals  in  12  years — 
3  fillies  and  1  stallion.  Part  of  her  trouble  was  prob- 
ably due  to  fitting  for  the  sho wring;  she  raised  a 
colt  imported  in  dam  and  one  the  next  year,  then 
quit  for  a  time. 

Influence  on  Other  Studs. — Sales  were  made  to 
many  of  the  leading  breeders,  and  some  studs  were 
founded  directly  on  purchases  made  at  Elwood 
Green.  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  De  Lancey,  Northfield,  Minn., 
made  their  start  in  Percheron  breeding  by  purchas- 
ing a  carload  of  mares  in  1885.  The  Minnesota  Per- 
cheron Horse  Co.,  Cazenovia,  Minn.,  also  made  heavy 
purchases  from  the  Ellwoods.  T.  W.  Palmer,  De- 
troitj  Mich.,  R.  B,  Kellogg  of  Wisconsin,  The  River- 


cI.L.DeLancey 


T.L.DeLariGei/ 


THE  GREAT   EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  261 

side  Kanch  of  North  Dakota,  the  Eisser  Horse  Co., 
Onarga,  111.,  the  Colverdale  Stock  Farm  and  H.  P. 
Malone,  New  Vienna,  0.,  0.  L.  Thisler,  Chapman, 
Kans.,  Walter  Green,  Mapleton,  N.  D.,  Thomas  Cross, 
Bangor,  Mich.,  C.  E.  Davis,  Davis  Junction,  111.,  C.  E. 
Sutton,  Russell,  Kans.,  Cross  Bros.,  Durand,  111.,  R. 
Nagle  &  Sons,  Grand  Ridge,  111.,  D.  H.  &  J.  W.  Snyder, 
Georgetown,  Tex.,  and  W.  Sprole,  Traer,  la.,  were 
among  the  many  who  bought  mares  of  the  Ellwoods, 
and  in  some  instances  stallions  as  well.  An  analysis 
of  the  produce  records  of  the  imported  mares  sold 
shows  that  they  were  not  as  a  whole  very  regular 
breeders,  even  in  the  hands  of  subsequent  owners, 
and  their  influence  on  the  breed  has  been  much  less 
than  it  should  have  been. 

Noted  Sires  Sold. — Seducteur  was  the  greatest  sire 
sold.  Superieur  5752  (2188),  a  very  good  horse  and 
good  breeder,  went  to  head  the  De  Lancey  stud. 
Niger  4986  (2951)  and  Picador  3d  5078  (4815) 
were  good  horses  sold  in  1887  and  1888  to  head  the 
Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Company  stud  at  Caze- 
novia,  and  the  company  bought  a  carload  of  the  best 
mares  Ellwood  had  about  this  time.  Mark  M.  Coad, 
Fremont,  Neb.,  who  also  had  ranches  in  Wyoming, 
bought  three  sires  about  1887,  one  of  which,  Turc 
6539  (10052),  proved  to  be  a  very  prepotent  stallion, 
probably  one  of  the  best,  if  not  the  best,  ever  used 
west  of  the  Missouri  River.  There  were  numerous 
others  that  had  less  opportunity,  but  that  have  done 
much  good  in  local  spheres. 

Summary  of  Ellwood  Operations. — Great  credit 


262  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

must  be  given  to  the  Ellwoods  for  the  benefits  accru- 
ing from  their  work  in  this  epoch  of  expansion.  They 
were  wealthy,  very  influential  in  Illinois  and  else- 
where, and  exerted  a  tremendous  influence  in  swing- 
ing popular  favor  more  strongly  toward  Percherons. 
They  had  the  means  and  the  disposition  to  obtain 
the  best  horses  that  could  be  bought,  and  transferred 
to  American  shores  a  large  percentage  of  the  prize- 
winners of  the  French  shows  between  1885  and  1890. 
They  advertised  in  the  showring,  covering  not  only 
Illinois,  but  all  nearby  states,  and  were  liberal  users 
of  newspaper  advertising.  They  also  resorted  to  col- 
ored posters  of  attractive  character  which  were  wide- 
ly distributed.  In  addition  to  all  these  factors  they 
sold  their  horses  on  a  fair  margin  of  profit  and  were 
at  all  times  willing  to  take  reasonable  paper.  They 
also  had  confidence  in  the  ultimate  development  of 
Percheron  breeding  in  America,  and  manifested  this 
by  liberal  importations  of  mares  for  their  own  use 
and  sale.  The  result  was  greatly  to  encourage  the 
small  breeder.  Everything  considered,  the  firm  de- 
serves a  very  high  rank  in  the  Percheron  history  of 
this  period  and  the  work  has  been  of  incalculable 
benefit  to  Percheron  interests  in  America. 

Daniel  Dunham's  Work. — Daniel  Dunham  of 
Wayne,  111.,  stands  third  in  rank  among  the  breeders 
of  this  epoch,  as  he  raised  50  stallions  and  41  mares 
of  his  own  breeding.  His  stud  was  founded  on  im- 
ported stock,  some  purchased  from  Oaklawn  and 
some  imported  by  himself.  The  majority  of  the 
mares  were  imported  in  1880,  but  many  others  were 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 'S  263 

bred  by  Mr.  Dunham  and  reserved  for  his  own  use. 
He  had  43  mares  in  1889,  only  28  of  which  were  old 
enough  to  produce  colts,  and  a  comparison  of  the 
records  made  by  his  mares  shows  that  he  had  more 
regular-producing  brood  mares  in  proportion  to  total 
number  owned  than  either  Oaklawn  or  Ellwood 
Green  farms.  Probably  this  was  due  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  he  kept  his  best  breeding  females,  and  in 
part  to  their  being  maintained  under  farm  condi- 
tions, where  some  work  was  required. 

Marquis  868  (774),  a  son  of  Superior  454  (730) 
out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d,  was  the  leading  sire 
used  at  this  time.  He  was  a  gray  of  good  type  and 
left  some  very  good  colts.  Prosper  2501  (1155),  a 
gray  imported  in  1883  by  Oaklawn  Farm,  was  the 
next  sire  of  consequence.  He  was  sired  by  Vaillant 
(404)  out  of  a  daughter  of  Prosper  (893).  He  was 
a  large,  massive,  heavy-boned  horse  of  very  rugged 
type  and  crossed  well  on  the  daughters  of  Marquis 
868  (774).  Don  Brilliant  2029  (2482),  a  black  son 
of  Brilliant  1899  out  of  a  daughter  of  Favori  1st 
(711),  was  used  a  little  later.  He  stood  16  hands 
high,  weighed  about  1,900  pounds  and  was  imported 
by  Daniel  Dunham  in  1882,  with  others,  and  sold  to 
J.  W.  Morgan  &  Co.,  Tower  Hill,  111.  The  colts  he 
sired  were  of  such  excellent  character  and  so  uniform 
that  Mr.  Dunham  bought  him  back  in  1890  at  a  long 
price.  He  left  the  choicest  colts  of  any  sire  used, 
but  had  a  select  band  of  mares  to  work  on. 

Mares  were  sold  by  Daniel  Dunham  to  William 
Holegate,  Wyoming,  111.,  C.  P.  Dewey,  Toulon,  111., 


264  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

J.  H.  Cowlisliaw,  Blakeville,  la.,  W.  P.  Buswell, 
Neponset,  111.,  F.  M.  Bulir,  Knittle,  la.,  Tim  Payne, 
Dunbar,  Neb.,  D.  E.  Branham,  Litchfield,  Minn.,  and 
numerous  others.  Those  sold  near  Toulon,  111.,  and 
Wyoming,  111.,  were  most  numerous  and  have  favor- 
ably influenced  Percheron  breeding  in  those  sections. 
Stallions  were  sold  over  a  wide  range  of  territory, 
but  few  had  any  opportunity  on  purebred  mares.  As 
a  consequence  they  have  achieved  no  special  re- 
nown, although  they  undoubtedly  did  much  good  in 
improving  the  common  horses  of  their  time.  Daniel 
Dunham's  career,  which  was  distinctly  that  of  a 
breeder,  was  cut  short  by  financial  difficulties  which 
made  it  necessary  to  sell  the  Percherons  in  1893  at 
a  great  sacrifice.  The  dispersion  of  such  a  stud, 
which  had  been  carefully  built  up  by  a  man  whose 
instincts  were  those  of  a  creative  breeder,  was  most 
unfortunate  and  its  sale  at  a  time  when  all  business 
throughout  the  United  States  was  depressed  scat- 
tered and  dissipated  the  stock,  as  other  breeders 
were  not  in  a  position  to  purchase. 

The  Dillons. — The  Dillons,  operating  as  Ellis  Dil- 
lon &  Company  and  later  as  Dillon  Bros.,  took  fourth 
place  in  number  of  animals  bred  during  this  period, 
but  in  point  of  influence  they  ranked  close  to  Mark  W. 
Dunham  and  W.  L.  Ellwood.  They  were  aggressive 
importers,  exhibitors  and  breeders,  and  but  for  their 
adherence  in  part  to  a  rival  stud  book  organization 
might  have  exerted  more  influence  on  Percheron  af- 
fairs than  they  did.  They  bred  and  raised  39  stal- 
lions and  43  mares — Percherons — during  this  time 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  265 

and  were  also  active  breeders  of  other  draft  horses. 
They  exerted  a  greater  direct  influence  on  draft 
horse  operations  in  central  Illinois  than  any  other 
breeders  of  this  period,  and  many  of  the  leading 
studs  in  McLean,  Tazewell,  Livingston  and  La  Salle 
counties  are  founded  wholly  or  in  part  on  stock  from 
the  Dillon  stud. 

Sires  Used. — The  chief  sires  which  the  Dillons  used 
at  this  time  were  Extrador  4525  (386),  imported  by 
them  in  1883,  and  Papillon  3559  (379),  imported 
by  Mr.  Dunham.  Both  horses  were  of  the  rugged, 
massive  type  and  bred  very  drafty  colts.  Powerful 
6670  (Bayard  7519)  was  one  of  the  best  sires  ever 
imported  by  the  Dillons,  but  he  was  sold  by  them 
in  1882  to  William  Hurt,  Arrowsmith,  111.,  and  was 
not  used  in  their  own  stud,  though  they  subsequently 
bought  and  used  one  of  his  sons,  Dave  P.  14366,  bred 
by  William  Hurt.  Favora  1542  (765),  foaled  in 
1868  and  imported  in  1880  by  the  Dillons,  was  an- 
other horse  of  great  note  in  Percheron  breeding.  He 
was  about  17  hands  high,  weighed  over  a  ton  even 
after  12  years  old,  and  was  an  extremely  well  pro- 
portioned, rugged,  heavy-boned  horse  whose  stock 
was  noted  for  size  and  draftiness.  He  was  among 
the  winners  at  the  WorkPs  Exposition  at  Paris  in 
1878,  and  although  a  very  aged  horse  for  showring 
work  took  first  at  St.  Louis  in  1880.  He  sired  but 
5  colts  in  this  country,  probably  because  he  had  been 
used  to  the  limit  in  France  and  then  fitted  to  a  very 
high  condition  in  his  ten-  and  twelve-year-old  form 
for  show.     It  is  evident  also  that  he  had  but  slight 


266  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

opportunity.  The  Dillons  sold  him  to  Rush  Co., 
Ind.,  where  he  sired  two  purebred  colts  for  J.  T. 
McMillin,  the  president  of  the  company  that  owned 
the  horse.*  These  colts  were  foaled  in  1888  and 
1889.  R.  B.  Kellogg  shipped  some  mares  to  be  bred 
to  Favora  in  May,  1888,  and  secured  two  colts.  Fa- 
vora  died  on  April  15,  1889,  aged  21  years. 

Dillons  in  the  Showring. — The  Dillons  were  good 
advertisers  and  were  appreciative  of  the  value  of 
showring  exhibitions.  They  exhibited  more  gener- 
ally at  the  county  and  district  fairs  in  Illinois  than 
any  other  breeders  of  this  period,  and  also  made 
strong  displays  at  the  state  fairs  and  Chicago  horse 
shows.  The  extremely  hot  pace  set  by  Mark  W. 
Dunham,  W.  L.  Ellwood,  Leonard  Johnson  and  H.  A. 
Briggs  shut  the  Dillons  out  of  the  prize-lists  at  the 
most  important  shows  so  far  as  stallions  were  con- 
cerned, but  their  mares  won  high  honors  in  the 
strongest  competition.  Modesty  G.  586  was  their 
most  noted  show  mare.  She  was  first  in  the  aged 
mare  class  at  the  Chicago  show  in  1887,  and  was 
also  first  for  mare  and  two  of  her  produce.  She  was 
not  a  regular  breeder,  and  raised  only  5  colts  in  17 


*W.  H.  McMillin,  Rushville,  Ind.,  writing  under  date  of  May  12, 
1915,   says: 

"Favora  1546  was  owned  by  a  company  of  men  at  Gings,  Ind., 
of  which  my  father,  J.  T.  McMillin,  was  the  president.  .  .  . 
He  got  about  70  per  cent  of  his  mares  in  foal,  but  there  were 
only  2  purebred  mares  in  the  county  during  the  time  he  w^as  used 
here.  Favora  was  the  greatest  breeding  horse  ever  used  in  Rush 
county.  The  mares  at  that  time  were  small,  ranging  from  ponies 
up,  but  the  colts  at  four  years  weighed  from  1,500  to  2,000  pounds, 
and  the  shippers  would  buy  every  one  they  could  get,  even  as 
three-year-olds.  I  think  he  was  brought  here  in  the  spring  of 
1882.  He  died  April  15,  1889,  at  21  years.  He  weighed  over  2,200 
pounds  while  owned  in  Rush  county  and  was  the  best  draft  horse 
I  ever  saw." 


THE  GREAT   EXPANSION   OF   THE    '80  ^S  267 

years.  Her  daughters  were  prize-winners,  however, 
and  one,  Lorilee  G.  1532,  was  also  a  winner  at  the 
leading  shows  and  proved  to  be  a  better  breeder 
than  her  dam.  Christiana  1586  was  another  splendid 
mare  owned  by  the  Dillons,  a  show  and  brood  mare 
combined,  and  many  of  the  best  horses  now  in  central 
Illinois  trace  to  her.  Allegra  4454  by  Extrador  4525 
(386)  was  her  greatest  daughter;  bred  to  Powerful 
6670  (7519)  she  produced  Loretta  P.  10285,  an  extra- 
ordinary brood  mare.  Christina  P.  16608  was  almost 
as  great,  and  Capsheaf  16986  was  one  of  the  very 
good  sires  used  in  Illinois.  Any  one  of  these  three 
would  have  been  enough  to  blazon  a  mare's  name  in 
history,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  Allegra  4454 
is  generally  considered  the  greatest  mare  Dillons 
ever  bred,  although  her  record  was  made  in  the  hands 
of  William  Hurt. 

Mark  M.  Coad. — Mr.  Coad,  a  wealthy  ranchman 
with  extensive  interests  in  Nebraska,  Wyoming,  and 
other  western  states,  stands  fifth  among  the  leading 
breeders  of  this  period.  He  began  in  1885  by  import- 
ing 59  mares  and  18  stallions,  thereby  inaugurating 
operations  on  an  extended  scale.  He  subsequently 
made  a  few  other  purchases  from  other  leading  im- 
porters and  became  very  active  in  Percheron  affairs 
in  the  west.  The  extent  of  his  operations  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  he  bred  between  1885  and  1890  40 
stallions  and  32  mares,  and  still  more  in  the  next 
decade. 

Ranch  and  range  conditions  prevailed  so  far  as  the 
mares  and  growing  colts  were  concerned,  although 


268  A  HISTORY  OP  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

he  did  halter-break  and  grain-feed  the  stallions  in- 
tended for  sale  and  the  horses  meant  for  the  show- 
ring.  The  proportion  of  colts  raised  to  mares  owned 
was  at  this  time  about  25  per  cent,  the  low  increase 
evidently  being  due  to  acclimation  troubles  and 
losses  among  the  foals. 

Mr.  Coad  was  fortunate  in  importing  a  very  good 
sire,  Henri  Le  Blanc  4542  (2433),  at  the  time  he 
secured  his  mares.  This  horse  did  much  good,  but 
his  owner  obtained  a  much  greater  one  in  1888  in 
Turc  6539,  a  stallion  imported  by  W.  L.  Ellwood. 
This  sire,  a  black  with  both  hind  pasterns  and  one 
front  one  white,  was  a  son  of  Confident  3647  (397), 
he  by  Brilliant  1271  out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d. 
He  was  a  large,  massive  horse,  standing  a  fraction 
over  17  hands  high  and  weighing  over  a  ton.  He  was 
well-proportioned,  stood  well  on  his  feet  and  legs, 
and  was  a  clean-cut  horse  of  excellent  style  and 
quality.  As  a  sire,  he  proved  to  be  extremely  pre- 
potent and  got  big,  rugged  colts  that  weighed  from 
1,700  to  1,900  pounds  in  ordinary  field  condition  at 
three  years  of  age.  His  colts  were  symmetrical, 
stood  well  on  their  underpinning  and  were  almost 
invariably  sound  and  clean.  He  remained  in  service 
at  the  head  of  Mr.  Coad 's  stud  for  a  number  of  years. 
His  colts  were  so  extremely  good  that  James  M. 
Fletcher  bought  two  carloads  of  the  stallions  in  1897 
and  considered  them  extra  good,  both  as  individuals 
and  as  breeders.  They  finished  out  as  big,  drafty 
horses,  most  of  them  weighing  over  a  ton,  and  sired 
draft  colts  rugged  and  sound. 


THE  GREAT  EXPANSION  OF  THE    '80 's  269 

Appoline  4778  (4003)  was  one  of  Mr.  Goad's  best 
mares.  She  was  of  showyard  merit  and  he  won  sec- 
ond on  her  and  her  two  colts  at  the  Columbian  Ex- 
position in  1893.  She  was  not  an  especially  regular 
breeder,  producing  only  7  colts  in  14  years,  but  they 
were  good.  One,  Starlight  17891,  foaled  in  1895  and 
sired  by  Turc,  was  second  in  a  strong  class  of  two- 
year-old  stallions  at  the  Chicago  Horse  Show  in  No- 
vember, 1897.  Mirza  4759  (4050)  was  a  good  brood 
mare.  One  of  her  daughters.  Vanity  Fair  16568, 
won  third  in  the  two-year-old  filly  class  at  the  Co- 
lumbian. Mirza  was  quite  prolific,  raising  7  colts  in 
13  years,  and  they  were  above  the  average.  Vail- 
lante  4787  (Loret  2453)  was  another  mare  of  splen- 
did individuality.  She  was  champion  in  1888  and 
1889  at  the  Nebraska  State  Fair  and  was  third  at 
the  Columbian  in  the  sweepstakes  class.  She  was  a 
shy  breeder,  however,  raising  but  2  colts  of  record, 
one  Diana  7537,  foaled  in  1887,  and  the  other.  Mon- 
arch 16670,  foaled  in  1892.  Bijou  4780  (307)  was 
another  clinking  good  mare  in  Mr.  Coad's  stud.  She 
was  champion  at  the  Nebraska  State  Fair  in  1890, 
and  was  also  a  brood  mare  of  more  than  average 
merit.  She  raised  8  colts  in  10  years,  6  of  them  sired 
by  Turc  6539  (10052),  and  they  were  good  ones. 

Mr.  Coad  was  keenly  interested  in  his  Percherons, 
and  was  a  ready  exhibitor  at  leading  shows,  al- 
though his  home  fair,  Nebraska  State,  received  chief 
attention.  He  was  a  heavy  winner  there  in  1887, 
1888,  1889,  1890,  1891  and  1892  in  both  mare  and 
stallion  classes  on  meritorious  stock.    He  did  much 


270  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

to  popularize  Percherons  in  his  territory  and  while 
most  of  the  stallions  he  raised  were  sold  direct  to 
ranchmen  for  the  improvement  of  range  horses,  he 
unquestionably  did  much  good  for  draft  horse  and 
Percheron  interests.  His  appreciation  of  a  good  sire 
led  him  to  send  some  of  his  mares  to  the  farm  of 
C.  S.  Dole,  Crystal  Lake,  111.,  in  1890  where  they 
were  bred  to  the  noted  Fenelon  2682,  a  horse  that 
was  even  then  receiving  recognition  as  a  sire  from 
constructive  breeders.  One  of  the  colts  which  re- 
sulted, Malmaluke  16574,  out  of  Lucette  4774  (3031), 
was  later  used  to  some  extent  in  Mr.  Goad's  stud. 

A.  Wickstrom,  Wilcox,  Neb.,  was  one  of  the  early 
purchasers  of  mares  from  Mr.  Goad,  obtaining  some 
in  1888.  William  Ernst,  Graf,  Neb.,  was  another 
who  obtained  some  foundation  females  from  Mr. 
Goad  in  1886.  William  Hahn,  Graf,  Neb.,  also  made 
a  slight  start  from  this  stud.  Mr.  Goad  sold  mares 
to  Mrs.  J.  E.  Wilson,  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  in  1887, 
some  of  which  were  shipped  by  her  to  Oaklawn  and 
bred  to  Brilliant  1271  with  good  results.  Everything 
considered,  however,  the  chief  influence  of  Mr. 
Goad's  work  at  this  time  was  to  popularize  Perche- 
rons in  his  country,  for  he  did  not  care  to  sell  many 
of  his  mares  and  the  vast  majority  of  the  stallions 
went  to  head  bands  of  grade  mares.  The  good  thus 
accomplished  is  beyond  calculation,  for  it  raised  the 
value  of  common  stock  fully  25  per  cent  by  the  first 
cross. 


CHAPTER  X. 

OTHER   PROMINENT   FIGURES    OF    THE 

PERIOD. 

Hon.  Thomas  W.  Palmer  of  Detroit,  United  States 
Senator  from  Michigan  from  1883  to  1889,  was  an- 
other  of  the  leading  breeders  of  this  period.  He  was 
very  wealthy,  having  been  prominently  identified  as 
a  stockholder  or  director  in  numerous  banks,  fac- 
tories, and  lake  navigation  companies.  He  had  been 
a  leader  in  politics,  also,  and  was  influential  in  state 
and  national  affairs.  An  able  debater  and  a  forceful 
speaker,  his  public  utterances  were  commended 
widely  for  their  clearness  and  the  soundness  of  judg- 
ment which  they  expressed.  Mr.  Palmer  engaged  in 
Percheron  breeding  in  1883.  He  gradually  increased 
his  stud  until  by  1890  he  had  bred  28  stallions  and 
38  mares.  His  foundation  stock  was  purchased  at 
Oaklawn  Farm,  but  he  imported  2  stallions  and  7 
mares  on  his  own  account  in  1883.  He  made  another 
importation  of  mares  in  1886. 

Log  Cabin  Farm. — Mr.  Palmer  had  two  farms,  but 
his  Percherons  were  kept  on  the  Log  Cabin  Farm 
near  Detroit — land  that  is  now  in  parks  and  golf 
links.  The  place  comprised  about  500  acres  of  good 
land,  well  adapted  to  farming  and  pasturage.    The 

271 


272  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

log  cabin,  one  of  Mr.  Palmer's  fancies  from  which 
the  farm  took  its  name,  still  stands  in  Palmer  Park." 

Mr.  Palmer's  duties  in  the  business  and  political 
world  made  it  impossible  for  him  to  give  much  per- 
sonal attention  to  his  Percherons,  and  most  of  the 
details  fell  to  his  partner,  E.  W.  Cottrell,  and  to 
George  T.  Van  Norman,  manager  of  Log  Cabin  Farm. 

An  examination  of  the  original  inventory  of  Log 
Cabin  Farm,  furnished  through  the  courtesy  of 
George  N.  Brady,  executor  of  the  estate,  reveals  the 
fact  that  approximately  90  mares  of  all  ages  were 
owned  in  the  spring  of  1892.  Mr.  Palmer  had  from 
40  to  50  mares  in  the  stud  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  '80 's.  The  imported  mares  were  shy  breeders 
during  the  first  few  years  and  he  did  not  raise  over 
10  colts  per  year  until  1889,  when  there  were  12.  In 
1890  27  were  raised,  and  the  mares  bred  more  regu- 
larly from  then  on. 

Anchorite  1370  (863)  was  the  first  stallion  used, 
being  Mr.  Palmer's  chief  stud  sire  until  he  acquired 


♦The  foUowing  comment  is  from  The  Breeder's  Gazette  of 
June  11.  1913: 

"Senator  Palmer  was  famed  as  the  owner  of  the  Log  Cabin 
Farm  on  the  outskirts  of  Detroit,  a  property  which  had  been 
owned  by  his  ancestors  and  wliicli  he  purchased  and  improved 
with  lavish  hand.  The  log  cabin  home  on  the  place  cost  more 
than  $20,000.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  large  wooded  tract,  and  near 
it  is  an  artificial  lake.  Tlie  interior  decorations  and  furnishings 
of  the  cabin  are  in  keeping  witli  its  pioneer  aspect,  and  include 
relics  and  heirlooms  of  early  days  collected  for  many  years.  It 
has  been  made  to  look  as  much  as  possible  like  the  primitive 
homes  of  the  pioneers,  altliough  it  includes  all  modern  conveni- 
ences. 

"Near  this  cabin  the  senator  had  a  stock  farm  of  500  acres, 
with  a  fine  herd  of  Jerseys  and  a  stud  of  Percherons.  In  this 
rustic  home  the  senator  entertained  many  distinguished  guests 
with  unique  hospitality.  There  was  no  formality,  and  dinner  was 
announced  with  an  old  tin  dinner  liorn.  Senator  Palmer  was  said 
to  have  refused  an  offer  of  a  million  dollars  for  the  property." 


OTHER  PROMINENT   FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  273 

Fenelon.  Ancliorite  was  a  medium-sized  horse 
weighing  around  1,750  pounds ;  he  was  very  symmet- 
rical, stylish,  and  of  unusual  quality.  Sired  by 
Romulus  873  (785),  whinner  of  first  prize  in  the  aged 
stallion  class  at  the  Universal  Exhibition  of  Paris 
in  1878,  Anchorite  himself  was  a  show  horse  and  won 
first  in  the  aged  class  for  stallions  under  1,800  pounds 
at  the  Percheron  society  show  at  Chicago  in  1886. 
He  w^as  also  a  sire  of  merit.  One  of  his  daughters, 
Marie  Antoinette  4882,  out  of  a  granddaughter  of 
Vidocq  483  (732),  w^on  the  gold  medal  offered  by 
the  Percheron  Society  of  France  at  this  same  Chicago 
show  for  the  best  mare  of  any  age  bred  in  America. 
He  sired  medium-sized,  symmetrical,  sound  stock  of 
great  quality  and  style.  In  fact.  Anchorite's  get 
proved  just  the  kind  of  horses  that  were  wanted  in 
Michigan,  where  farmers  did  not  take  well  to  the 
large  and  massive  type  of  drafters. 

Mr.  Palmer  exhibited  quite  extensively  at  the  lead- 
ing shows.  Anchorite  was  a  consistent  winner  for 
him.  Marie  Antoinette,  Loetitia  5198  (6495),  and 
Rosa  Bonheur  5100,  imported  in  dam  and  sired  by 
Bon  Espoir  (213),  one  of  the  best  sons  of  Brilliant 
1899,  w^ere  his  leading  mares.  Marie  Antoinette  was 
quite  a  producer  and  bred  until  she  was  over  20  years 
of  age. 

Mr.  Palmer's  influence  was  much  greater  than  is 
indicated  by  the  number  and  character  of  the  colts  he 
raised.  His  business  ability,  his  sagacity,  and  his 
political  standing  all  gave  weight  to  his  activities  in 
behalf  of  the  Percheron.    He  was  elected  first  presi- 


274  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

dent  of  the  American  Percheron  Horse  Breeders'  As- 
sociation, which  was  incorporated  on  Nov.  10,  1885, 
succeeding  the  voluntary  association  known  as  the 
Percheron  Horse  Breeders'  Association  of  America, 
organized  in  1876  with  Daniel  Dunham  as  president. 
Mr.  Palmer  served  the  association  in  the  capacity  of 
president  with  great  ability  for  more  than  a  decade. 
He  was  an  enthusiastic  supporter  of  the  breed  and 
encouraged  the  American  breeder  in  every  possible 
way. 

Edgewood  Farm.  —  Dr.  Winter's  operations, 
already  referred  to,  were  steadily  continued  during 
this  period.  While  the  number  of  horses  which  he 
bred  and  raised  was  not  large,  they  were  of  good  type 
and  quality,  although  some  were  not  of  popular 
colors.  He  had  from  20  to  25  mares  of  all  ages.  He 
raised  only  3  colts  in  1882,  but  the  number  gradually 
increased  until  in  1890  he  recorded  11  of  his  own 
breeding.  In  all  he  produced  39  stallions  and  27 
mares  during  this  decade. 

Malbranche  293  was  continued  in  the  stud,  but  was 
not  much  used.  La  Force  249,  imported  in  1874  by 
the  Princeton  Horse  Company,  and  Bernadotte  36, 
foaled  in  1875,  the  first  Percheron  ever  bred  by  Dr. 
Winter,  were  the  chief  sires  in  the  stud.  Valiant  473, 
a  good  horse  imported  by  N.  C.  Buswell,  and  Salva- 
tor  4293  (701),  imported  in  1883  by  Mark  W.  Dun- 
ham, were  also  used  to  some  extent.  Messidor  3753 
(685),  imported  in  1885  by  Mr.  Dunham,  later  was 
bought  by  Dr.  Winter  and  sired  a  few  purebred  colts 
in  his  stud.     In  1886  Dr.  Winter  sent  Agnes  4727 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  275 

to  Oaklawn  and  had  her  bred  to  Brilliant  1271.  To 
this  mating  she  produced  in  1887  a  very  good  colt 
recorded  as  Brilliant  A.  9998  and  extensively  used  at 
a  later  date. 

La  Force  apparently  did  as  much  good  as  any 
horse  used  at  this  time.  About  16.2  hands  high,  he 
weighed  around  1,800  pounds  and  was  extremely 
handsome,  round-bodied,  and  smoothly  turned.  He 
was  solid  black  in  color.  Bernadotte  was  a  compact 
horse,  but  hardly  as  blocky  and  massve  as  La  Force. 
He  left  some  excellent  colts,  but  on  account  of  his 
close  relationship  to  most  of  Dr.  Winter's  mares  he 
was  not  available  for  general  use. 

Aimee  520  was  one  of  the  best  brood  mares,  and 
an  unusually  prolific  one.  She  raised  14  colts  in  17 
years,  beginning  when  she  was  3  years  of  age.  Two 
of  her  daughters,  Olga  21851  and  Prudance  21853, 
were  also  regular  producers,  one  raising  7  and  the 
other  8  colts  in  9  years,  showing  that  the  tendency  to 
regular  reproduction  is  inherited  in  some  instances 
at  least.  Aimee  made  her  record  while  in  Dr.  Win- 
ter's ownership,  and  her  daughters  made  theirs  while 
owned  by  John  C.  Baker.  Florence  2403  was  another 
good  brood  mare,  long-lived  and  a  regular  breeder. 
Jeanne  560  was  another  of  the  same  kind;  her  colts 
were  exceptionally  good,  the  first  being  Bernadotte. 
Julie  568,  Jeanne's  second  colt,  was  one  of  the  doc- 
tor's best  brood  mares,  raising  11  colts  in  13  years. 

While  Edgewood  FaiTu  exhibited  to  some  extent 
at  local  shows,  not  much  showing  was  done  and  the 
larger  fairs  do  not  reveal  a  record  of  winnings  by 


276  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

this  farm.  Dr.  Winter  was  not  an  aggressive  adver- 
tiser— and  confined  himself  strictly  to  farming  and 
breeding.  He  bred  some  very  good  stock,  but  in  all 
fairness  it  must  be  said  that  he  was  not  an  especially 
good  care-taker.  Much  of  his  stock  would  have  been 
better  off  had  it  seen  more  feed. 

I.  L.  Hoover,  of  Clinton,  Wis.,  bought  a  number 
of  Percherons  from  Edgewood  Farm  in  the  '80 's. 
J.  F.  Campbell  bought  Charlotte  5320,  and  she  proved 
a  regular  producer,  raising  9  colts  in  the  12  years 
from  1889  to  1900,  beginning  in  her  three-year-old 
form.  Jeannette  4730  went  to  the  stud  of  Alexander 
Miller,  He  Voe,  S.  D.  These  were  the  chief  pur- 
chasers during  this  period. 

John  W.  Akin. — John  W.  Akin,  Scipio,  N.  Y., 
was  the  only  prominent  Percheron  importer  and 
breeder  in  the  Empire  State.  At  the  start  he  bought  a 
few  at  Oaklawn  Farm.  In  1883  he  made  an  importa- 
tion of  25  stallions  and  14  mares.  In  1884  he  brought 
over  28  stallions  and  23  mares,  and  he  made  some 
other  importations  in  1887  and  later.  Most  of  the 
mares  he  retained  and  engaged  in  Percheron  breed- 
ing. The  results  at  the  outset  were  none  too  encour- 
aging. In  1884  Mr.  Akin  raised  1  colt,  in  1885  3, 
in  1886  7,  in  1887  8,  in  1888  8,  in  1889  16,  in  1890  21. 
From  1888  to  1890  he  had  about  40  mares  of  produc- 
ing age.  A  review  of  their  produce  records  reveals 
few  that  would  classify  as  brood  mares.  They  were 
shy  breeders,  especially  for  the  first  few  years  after 
importation. 

Men  familiar  with  the  stock  in  the  Akin   stud 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  277 

consider  it  as  rather  too  small  and  too  lacking  in 
real  draft  character  to  have  exerted  any  material 
influence  on  the  breed.  Mr.  Akin  is  to  be  considered 
as  a  responsible  breeder  who  did  much  to  popularize 
Percherons  in  New  York  in  an  early  day  by  distribut- 
ing horses  that  worked  some  improvement  on  the 
light  native  stock  of  the  state.  So  far  as  influence  on 
Percheron  breeding  in  America  is  concerned,  the 
operations  in  this  stud  are  practically  valueless.  A 
few  animals  were  bred  during  the  '90 's,  but  the 
beginning  and  end  of  this  farm's  influence  has 
already  been  considered,  and  the  stud  will  not  come 
up  for  further  discussion. 

Minnesota  Breeders. — Illinois  contributed  8  of  the 
20  leading  breeders  of  this  epoch,  but  Minnesota 
stands  second  with  3  among  the  first  20.  It  is  safe 
to  say  that  there  were  more  high-class  Percheron 
breeding  establishments  in  Minnesota  in  the  '80 's 
than  in  any  other  state  except  Illinois.  The  breeders 
who  brought  the  state  to  the  front  were  Leonard 
Johnson,  The  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Company, 
and  George  E.  Case.  They  stood  eleventh,  fifteenth, 
and  nineteenth  respectively  in  number  of  Percherons 
bred  in  America  during  the  period  under  discussion 
and  the  dispersion  of  their  studs  in  the  '90 's  was 
deeply  regretted. 

Leonard  Johnson. — No  finer-tempered  or  more 
honorable  breeder  of  Percheron  horses  than  Leonard 
Johnson  ever  lived,  and  there  have  been  few  who 
were  his  equals  in  judgment.  He  began  about  1877 
or  1878  as  a  buyer  for  Mark  W.  Dunham  in  France, 


278  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

He  was  as  honest  as  the  day  is  long,  modest,  and 
courteous  in  his  speech  and  manner.  His  personality 
soon  acquired  for  him  the  confidence  and  close 
friendship  of  the  leading  breeders  in  France — M. 
Fardouet,  Pere  Caget,  Ernest  Perriot,  Sr.,  the 
Tacheaus,  and  the  Avelines.  He  was  an  idealist  in 
judgment — ever  looking  for  the  perfect  horse — and 
he  never  asked  to  see  any  but  the  best.  His  estimate 
of  the  real  stock  horses,  the  sires,  is  amply  shown 
by  the  fact  that  he  bought  for  Mr.  Dunham  many 
of  the  great  sires  which  made  Oaklawn  famous.  His 
first  purchases  were  made  in  company  with  Mr.  Dun- 
ham; his  later  operations  were  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility. It  is  no  reflection  on  Mark  W.  Dunham  to 
say  here  that  Deonard  Johnson  was  a  far  better  judge 
of  breeding  horses  than  was  the  master  of  Oaklawn. 
It  has  ever  been  characteristic  of  great  leaders  to 
surround  themselves  with  men  who  are  skilled  be- 
yond themselves  in  certain  lines,  and  in  no  one  thing 
did  Mr.  Dunham  show  keener  judgment  than  in  his 
selection  of  trusted  lieutenants,  of  whom  Leonard 
Johnson  was  one  of  the  first. 

Founding  Maple  Point  Stud. — Mr.  Johnson  realh 
began  in  1874  by  purchasing  imp.  Magnus  290,  a 
rather  massive  horse  for  that  time,  weighing  about 
2,000  pounds.  In  1875  he  bought  Superior  454  (730) 
and  Vidocq  483  (732).  Vidocq  was  subsequently  re- 
sold to  Mr.  Dunham  and  was  used  at  the  head  of  the 
Oaklawn  stud  for  several  years.  He  has  already 
been  described.  Superior  stood  about  16.2  hands 
high  and  weighed  between  1,800  and  1,900  pounds  in 


OTHER  PROMINENT   FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  279 

breeding  condition.  He  was  foaled  in  1868  and  im- 
ported in  1874.  He  was  white  at  the  time  of  his  im- 
portation, and  a  symmetrical,  stylish  horse  of  great 
quality  and  finish,  with  extraordinary  action.  As  a 
sire  he  was  one  of  the  best  and  undoubtedly  ranks 
as  one  of  the  greatest  sons  of  Favori  1st  (711),  the 
foundation  sire  of  the  Favori  strain. 

It  was  Mr.  Johnson 's  keen  judgment  and  integrity 
that  led  to  his  employment  by  Mr.  Dunham  as  his 
buyer  in  France.  While  thus  engaged  he  from  time 
to  time  selected  some  of  the  horses  that  especially 
suited  his  ideas,  and  by  arrangement  with  Mr.  Dun- 
ham he  shipped  these  to  Maple  Point  Farm.  Owing 
to  his  limited  means  Mr.  Johnson's  first  selections 
were  stallions,  which  were  soon  sold;  but  he  also  se- 
lected a  few  mares,  which  he  retained.  The  first 
Percheron  of  his  own  breeding  was  foaled  in  1881, 
and  the  number  gradually  increased  until  by  1890  he 
had  raised  26  stallions  and  an  equal  number  of 
mares. 

Leading  Sires  Used. — It  is  doubtful  whether  any 
stud  in  America  ever  had  such  a  group  of  really 
great  sires  as  was  owned  at  Maple  Point  in  the  '80  's. 
Unfortunately,  Mr.  Johnson  did  not  have  a  large 
band  of  mares,  nor  did  he  have  the  means  to  retain 
his  great  stock  horses.  These  stallions  were  sold 
after  he  had  used  them  for  a  short  time  and  many, 
like  Brilliant  1899,  went  into  communities  in  which 
they  were  lost  to  the  breed,  though  they  did  do  won- 
ders in  improving  the  grade  stock. 

Brilliant  1899,  whose  history   has    already   been 


280  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERC HERON   HORSE 

sketched,  and  Cheer  2017  (1404)  were  the  two  good 
sires  obtained  by  Mr.  Johnson  in  1881.  Cheer  was  a 
nice-turned,  medium-sized  horse  weighing  about 
1,750,  but  a  very  good  sire.  Each  of  these  sired  3 
Percheron  colts  before  being  sold  from  Maple  Point. 
In  1883  Mr.  Johnson  obtained  La  Grange  3065  (1334) 
and  Baptiste  3064  (41),  both  clinking  good  horses 
as  individuals  and  as  sires.  La  Grange  was  foaled 
in  1880  and  imported  in  1883.  He  was  a  winner  at 
the  leading  shows  in  France  and  was  the  best  horse 
which  Tacheau  had  in  '83.  He  was  sired  by  Brilliant 
1271  out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d  (714).  A  gray  of 
excellent  conformation,  style,  and  quality,  he  was  a 
show  horse  of  the  top  kind.  He  left  but  one  colt  at 
Maple  Point  before  he  was  sold  to  F.  J.  Shoe,  of  Shoe, 
Minn.,  after  which  he  was  used  on  grade  mares. 

Baptiste  was  a  horse  of  much  the  same  type  as 
La  Grange,  and  a  winner  abroad.  He  was  a  gray 
two-year-old  when  imported.  He  was  sired  by  a  son 
of  Vidocq  483  out  of  a  granddaughter  of  Superior 
454,  both  of  which  sires  had  been  used  at  Maple 
Point.  Baptiste  was  a  compact,  massive  horse, 
standing  about  16.3  hands  high  and  weighing  about 
a  ton.  He  was  a  horse  of  wonderful  finish.  He  was 
sold  by  Mr.  Johnson  to  William  Mies  &  Sons,  of 
Hampton,  Minn.,  at  an  early  date.  He  left  only  one 
colt  at  Maple  Point,  but  he  sired  28  purebreds  for 
Mies  &  Sons,  5  for  Thomas  Irvine,  and  7  for  G.  S. 
Horton.  He  was  used  extensively  on  grade  mares 
also  and  has  contributed  materially  to  Percheron  im- 
provement in  Minnesota.    He  won  first  in  the  four- 


OTHER  PROMINENT   FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  281 

year-old  class  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in  1885  for 
Mr.  Johnson,  and  was  first  in  the  aged  stallion  class 
in  1886  for  AVilliam  Mies  &  Sons. 

Jupiter  4301  (2243),  foaled  in  1882  and  imported 
in  1885,  was  the  next  high-class  sire  obtained.  A 
dark  gray,  about  16.3  hands  high,  and  weighing  from 
1,900  to  2,000  pounds,  he  was  massive,  drafty  sort 
with  a  great  deal  of  symmetry  and  finish.  He  was 
distinctly  in-bred,  as  he  was  begot  by  a  son  of  Bril- 
liant 1899  out  of  a  daughter  of  Brilliant  1899.  He 
sired  4  colts  for  Mr.  Johnson  before  he  was  sold 
to  William  &  James  Warden,  of  Frankfort,  S.  D.  In 
the  hands  of  the  Wardens  he  was  used  on  some 
Percheron  mares,  leaving  12  purebred  colts,  but  his 
chief  service  was  on  grade  mares. 

Not  content  with  anything  less  than  the  closest 
possible  approach  to  ideal  Percheron  type,  Mr.  John- 
son bought  in  1886  two  of  the  greatest  sons  of  Bril- 
liant 1271— Briard  5317"  (1630)  and  Gilbert  5154 
(461).  Briard  was  a  rugged,  big  horse,  which  stood 
about  17  hands  high  and  weighed  a  little  over  a 
ton.  Nicely  balanced,  with  two  good  ends  and  a 
middle,  he  was  a  heavy-boned  and  heavy-muscled 
horse,  but  lacked  a  little  in  finish.  He  sired  some  ex- 
cellent stock,  built  after  his  own  pattern.  Mr.  John- 
son paid  M.  W.  Dunham  $5,000  for  Briard  and  after 
a  season's  use  sold  him  to  Hon.  R.  W.  Daniels,  of 
Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  for  $4,500.  He  was  used  on  the  ranch 
at  Kelso,  N.  D.,  owned  by  Daniels  &  Winsor.  He 
sired  only  3  colts  at  Maple  Point,  but  left  11  other 
purebreds  in  North  Dakota.    Colts  sired  by  him  in 


282  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

France  were  prominent  winners,  and  he  is  rated  as 
one  of  the  three  best  sons  of  Brilliant  1271,  individu- 
ality and  the  prepotency  of  his  descendants  con- 
sidered. 

Gilbert  was  also  sired  by  Brilliant  1271,  and  every- 
thing considered  was  probably  the  greatest  show 
horse  the  old  sire  ever  begot.  He  was  a  winner  in 
France  and  took  first  in  the  four-year-old  class 
for  stallions  over  1,750  pounds  at  the  great  Percheron 
Society  show  at  Chicago  in  1886.  He  was  first  again 
in  1887  at  the  horse  show  at  Chicago,  and  second  at 
the  same  show  in  1888,  being  beaten  by  La  Ferte  5144 
(452).  Again  in  1889  he  was  second,  this  time  to 
Fenelon  2682  (38),  and  in  1890  he  was  second  at 
the  same  show  to  Seducteur  8850  (7057).  Gil- 
bert was  not  shown  in  1891  or  1892,  but  came  out  in 
1893,  when  11  years  old  and  after  7  years  of  stud 
service,  and  won  third  at  the  Columbian  Exposition 
in  the  face  of  strong  competition.  No  other  horse 
of  the  breed  has  a  showyard  record  excelling  this, 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether  any  can  equal  it. 

Gilbert  was  about  16.2  hands  high  and  weighed 
around  a  ton  in  show  condition.  He  was  a  remark- 
ably well-balanced  horse,  symmetrical  throughout, 
with  great  style  and  finish  and  the  best  of  underpin- 
ning. He  was  a  whirlwind  in  action,  and  remained 
sound  and  clean  to  the  end  of  his  days. 

As  a  sire  it  must  be  admitted  frankly  that  he  was 
not  the  best  of  the  sons  of  Brilliant  1271.  He  got 
some  very  good  animals,  but  his  colts  lacked  uniform- 
ity in  type  and  in  color  and  some  were  very  disap- 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  283 

pointing.  His  best  descendants  come  from  the  cross 
of  Gilbert  or  his  sons  on  daughters  or  granddaught- 
ers of  Briard;  he  furnished  the  quality  and  finish  to 
sweeten  up  the  Briard  stock.  He  sired  89  colts  in 
America,  most  of  which  were  bred  by  Leonard  John- 
son and  the  subsequent  owner  of  the  stallion,  Alex- 
ander Miller. 

Leopold  7011  (6221),  foaled  in  1885  and  imported 
as  a  two-year-old,  was  another  good  colt,  a  large, 
heavy-boned,  rugged  draft  horse  of  good  lines  and 
a  fetching  way  of  going.  He  was  sired  by  Voltaire 
3540  (443),  one  of  the  three  best  sons  of  Brilliant 
1271,  out  of  a  granddaughter  of  Favori  1st.  He  came 
from  Ernest  Perriot  and  sired  7  colts  of  record  while 
at  Maple  Point. 

Tripoli  11110  (20034)  was  the  last  of  the  great 
group  of  sires  used  by  Mr.  Johnson  during  this  peri- 
od. He  was  individually  the  best  colt  Gilbert  ever 
sired,  being  out  of  a  daughter  of  Brilliant  1899.  A 
black  standing  about  16.2  hands  high  and  weighing 
around  a  ton  in  show  condition,  he  was  a  winner  in 
France  and  took  first  as  a  three-year-old  at  the  Chi- 
cago show  in  1890.  He  was  much  like  Gilbert  in 
type,  but  far  excelled  him  as  a  sire,  his  colts  being 
uniformly  good  in  type  and  color.  He  subsequently 
headed  the  Upson  Farm  stud  in  North  Dakota. 

A  review  of  the  sires  used  at  Maple  Point  shows 
that  Mr.  Johnson's  judgment  was  of  the  best.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  any  stud  in  this  country  ever 
owned  so  many  high-class  sires  in  so  short  a  time. 
Certainly  no  establishment    in   America   has    ever 


284  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

owned  so  many  good  ones  in  proportion  to  tlie  total 
number  in  the  stud. 

The  Johnson  Mares. — In  his  selection  of  mares  Mr. 
Johnson  was  no  less  an  idealist  than  in  choosing  his 
stallions.  His  means  were  limited  so  that  he  could 
not  own  many,  but  those  he  did  have  were  the  best 
he  could  find.  All  the  colts  which  he  raised  during 
this  period  were  out  of  about  18  or  20  matrons. 
Many  were  show  mares,  and  brood  mares  as  well. 

Honest  Lady  2015  (2779)  was  one  of  the  best.  She 
was  first  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in  1885  and 
again  took  the  honors  in  1887  on  mare  and  her  prod- 
uce. She  was  a  regular  breeder,  raising  6  colts  in 
7  years  in  the  Maple  Point  stud,  and  good  ones  at 
that.  Mouvette  6176  (636)  was  second  in  the  two- 
year-old  class  at  the  Minnesota  fair.  She  later  went 
to  the  stud  of  R.  B.  Kellogg  where  she  produced  2 
colts,  and' then  was  sold  to  D.  Wittenberg,  Cedar- 
burg,  Wis.,  for  whom  she  raised  two  more. 

Sada  3060,  bred  by  Mr.  Johnson,  was  first  in  the 
four-year-old  class  at  Minnesota  in  1887.  She  did  not 
raise  many  colts.  Messagere  5129  (6762)  was  first  in 
the  three-year-old  class  at  the  same  state  fair  show. 
She  was  an  irregular  breeder,  but  raised  some  good 
colts.  Clodie  5140  (7253)  was  second  in  the  two-year- 
old  class  at  the  same  show  and  proved  a  brood  mare 
of  worth.  She  was  the  most  regular  breeder  in  the 
stud,  except  Honest  Lady.  Coquette  6710  (581)  was 
first  among  the  aged  mares  in  1889.  She  raised  only 
2  colts — Atlantic  11858,  sired  by  Seducteur,  and 
Bertine  11337,  a  gray  mare,  sired  by  Gilbert.    Atlan- 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  285 

tic  left  no  purebred  progeny  and  Bertine  had  only 
2  colts.  Elise  9675  (12262)  stood  first  for  Maple 
Point  at  the  Minnesota  fair  of  1889  and  Gretchen 
4649,  bred  by  Rufus  B.  Kellogg,  won  second  for  the 
Johnson  stable.  Gretchen  was  a  regular  producer 
of  good  colts  but  Elise  raised  only  3. 

As  a  whole  Mr.  Johnson's  females  were  excep- 
tional brood  mares,  producing  high-class  progeny, 
though  the  percentage  of  colts  raised  was  dishearten- 
ing. 

Showyard  Record. — Mr.  Johnson  was  an  enthusi- 
astic exhibitor  from  the  outset.  He  was  the  heaviest 
winner  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  at  the  beginning 
and  he  continued  his  lead  despite  strong  competition, 
although  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey  bested  him  in  the 
later  '80 's.  He  captured  a  fair  share  of  the  prizes 
at  the  leading  shows  of  that  period  which  were  an- 
nually held  at  Chicago.  It  is  probable  that  no  prize 
ever  gave  him  keener  pleasure  than  winning  the  gold 
medal  offered  by  the  Societe  Hippique  de  Percher- 
onne  in  1886  at  the  Percheron  Society  show  in  Chi- 
cago for  the  best  stallion  bred  in  America.  At  this 
show,  the  greatest  held  in  the  '80  's,  with  more  than 
300  Percherons  in  the  competition,  Mr.  Johnson  won 
the  coveted  medal  on  Eclipse  3066,  a  colt  of  his  own 
breeding,  sired  by  Leman  1954  (1055)  out  of  Sella 
2012.  This  was  a  gray  of  good  type  and  size,  after- 
ward used  in  the  stud  of  J.  L.  LaValley,  McCauley- 
ville,  Minn.,  where  he  sired  some  18  purebred  colts. 
Mr.  Johnson  showed  many  colts  of  his  own  breeding 
and  with  good  results. 


286  A   HISTORY    OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

Leonard  Johnson's  was  the  most  potent  influence 
of  the  '80 's  in  the  development  of  Percheron  inter- 
ests in  the  northwestern  states.  His  high  character 
and  agreeable  personality  made  him  liked  by  all  who 
knew  him,  and  his  remarkable  judgment  of  Perche- 
rons  made  his  fair  winnings  of  the  utmost  value  as 
object  lessons  to  less  well-informed  breeders  and 
farmers.  He  would  not  handle  inferior  stock,  and 
was  always  willing  to  pay  a  long  price  for  horses 
which  he  considered  ' '  true  gold. ' ' 

Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Company. — Controlled 
by  the  Payne  Lumber  Company  of  the  Twin  Cities, 
the  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Company  became 
one  of  the  important  Percheron  establishments  of 
the  state.  The  stud  was  founded  in  1886  by  the  pur- 
chase of  a  carload  of  W.  L.  Ellwood's  best  mares. 
Later  purchases  were  made  from  the  Ellwood  stud 
in  1888  and  '89.  The  firm  had  extensive  land  inter- 
ests at  Cazenovia  and  was  wealthy.  The  best  were 
none  too  good,  and  its  purchases  were  high-class  as 
to  individuality. 

Exact  data  as  to  the  number  of  mares  owned  are 
not  obtainable,  but  the  firm  owned  at  least  30  mares 
by  1888  and  about  50  mares  by  1890.  Twenty-five 
stallions  and  21  mares  of  the  company's  breeding, 
foaled  from  1887  to  1890,  are  on  record,  and  none  of 
the  dams  was  to  be  classed  as  a  regular  breeder. 

Niger  4986  (2951)  was  the  chief  sire.  He  was 
imported  in  1886  by  Mr.  Ellwood  and  was  in  the 
first  lot  bought  by  the  Paynes.  Picador  3d  5078 
(4815),  imported  in  1886,  was  also  taken  to  Cazen- 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  287 

ovia  at  the  same  time.  Niger  was  a  black  son  of 
Picador  2d  (5606)  and  was  much  like  his  illustrious 
grandsire,  Picador  1st  (7330),  the  foundation  sire 
of  the  strain  bearing  his  name.  A  massive,  drafty 
horse  weighing  around  a  ton,  Niger  had  a  great  deal 
of  quality  and  finish.  His  colts  were  excellent  and  he 
was  long  at  the  head  of  the  stud.  The  stud  continued 
throughout  the  next  decade  in  spite  of  hard  times, 
but  inasmuch  as  it  w^as  only  w^ell  started  by  1890 
a  more  exhaustive  consideration  of  its  work  will  be 
taken  up  in  another  chapter. 

George  E.  Case. — At  St.  Peter,  Minn.,  George  E. 
Case,  a  merchant,  established  a  Percheron  stud  by 
direct  importations  from  France.  His  ranked  among 
the  first  20  breeding  establishments  of  America  by 
1890.  He  imported  28  mares  in  1883,  '84,  and  '85, 
and  some  35  stallions.  Most  of  the  mares  were  re- 
tained for  his  own  use  and  by  1890  he  had  raised 
some  16  stallions  and  19  mares  of  his  own  breeding. 
At  the  same  time  he  continued  his  importations  and 
was  actively  engaged  in  the  sale  of  stallions.  As  a  di- 
rector of  the  American  Percheron  Horse  Breeders' 
Association  he  was  very  influential  in  spreading  the 
gospel  of  better  blood  for  draft  horse  improvement  in 
the  northwest. 

Margot  3033  (1341)  and  Sandi  3803  (444)  were  the 
first  two  sires  used  by  Mr.  Case,  but  they  left  very 
few  colts.  Sandi  was  a  good  type,  a  thick  and  mas- 
sive gray  with  a  deal  of  quality.  He  was  sired  by 
Brilliant  1271  out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d.  Not 
being  imported  until  past  four  years  of  age,  he  left  a 


288  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCIIERON    HORSE 

number  of  good  colts  in  France,  some  of  which  were 
brought  over  during  the  '80 's  by  the  leading  im- 
porters of  that  period.  Sandi  was  sold  shortly  after 
importation  and  then  had  access  to  grades  only,  until 
1889,  when  he  did  sire  one  more  purebred  colt. 

Senegal  8456  (8092)  was  the  most  important  sire 
used  in  the  Case  stud.  He  was  a  gray  sired  by 
Voltaire  3540  (443)  out  of  a  daughter  of  Favori  1st 
and  proved  a  horse  of  great  merit,  both  individually 
and  as  a  sire.  He  was  not  imported  until  1887  and 
was  not  used  long,  but  his  colts  were  good. 

Mr.  Case  won  a  number  of  prizes  in  1885  at  the 
Minnesota  State  Fair,  but  did  not  exhibit  very  ex- 
tensively afterward.  He  was  not  as  keen  a  judge 
as  Leonard  Johnson  or  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey,  and 
consequently  was  less  well  equipped  with  the  mate- 
rial necessary  for  strong  campaigns.  His  Percherons 
were  a  good  useful  sort,  however,  and  being  above 
the  average  in.  merit  did  much  good. 

The  gathering  financial  storm  which  wrecked  so 
many  good  establishments  drove  Mr.  Case  to  disperse 
his  stud  about  1892.  The  mares  were  scattered  wide- 
ly into  the  hands  of  small  farmers.  There  are  de- 
scendants of  this  stock  around  St.  Peter  and  St. 
Cloud  in  Minnesota,  but  for  the  most  part  they  were 
lost  to  the  purebred  industry. 

Wisconsin's  Leaders. — Capt.  Fred  Pabst  and  Ru- 
fus  B.  Kellogg  w^ere  Wisconsin's  representatives 
among  the  first  20  breeders  of  this  epoch;  they  occu- 
pied tenth  and  twelfth  places  respectively  in  the 
number  of  Percherons  bred  and  raised  in  their  own 


[    c/.  E.  Wilsoir\  )( [  Jas.  D.  Beckett 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  289 

studs.  Both  were  men  of  wealth  and  business  ability, 
well  educated  and  widely  travelled,  and  their  influ- 
ence was  unquestionably  large  in  favorably  shaping- 
Wisconsin's  sentiment  toward  Percherons. 

Wauwatosa  Farm. — The  Wauwatosa  stud,  estab- 
lished by  Fred  Pabst  in  1885,  was  started  with  the 
stallion  Burg  4444  (2241)  and  29  mares  imported  di- 
rect from  France.  In  1886  Mr.  Pabst  imported  26 
more  mares.  Other  stallions  were  imported  each 
year,  but  Burg  remained  at  the  head  of  the  stud  and 
his  leadership  was  never  threatened. 

Mr.  Pabst  in  his  first  catalog,  issued  in  1890,  gives 
his  reasons  for  establishing  a  Percheron  stud  as  fol- 
lows : 

^^It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  I  did  not  go  into  the 
business  of  raising  horses  as  a  mere  money  specula- 
tion. I  did  it  because  I  thought  I  could  advance  a 
great  interest  in  our  state.  It  is  universally  admitted 
that  the  majority  of  the  best  Clydesdales  imported  to 
this  country  have  for  years  been  brought  direct  to 
the  state  of  Wisconsin,  but  many  of  our  people  pre- 
ferred the  Percherons,  and  were  going  into  neighboi^- 
ing  states  to  procure  them,  because  they  there  found 
better  ones  than  could  be  found  at  home. 

' '  I  take  a  pride  in  the  state  in  which  I  live  and  in 
which  all  my  interests  lie,  and  I  determined  that  I 
would  breed  right  here  in  our  own  state  as  good, 
or  better,  Percherons  than  could  be  found  elsew^here, 
and  to  this  purpose,  I,  in  1885,  sent  a  man  of  expe- 
rience to  France  with  instructions  to  buy  a  herd  of 
mares,  the  best  to  be  found  in  that  country,  irre- 
spective of  prices.  These  mares  were  bought  at 
prices  that  ordinary  importers,  who  buy  to  sell  again, 
could  not  afford  to  pay.     They  were  brood  mares, 


290  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

whose  owners  were  not  looking  for  buyers  and  who 
could  only  be  persuaded  to  part  with  them  for  long 
prices.  ^ ' 

These  importations  gave  Mr.  Pabst  more  than  50 
mares  of  producing  age  from  1886  on.  He  raised  17 
colts  in  1887,  20  in  1888,  13  in  1889,  and  10  in  1890— 
a  total  of  27  stallions  and  23  mares.  Some  trouble 
must  have  been  encountered,  as  a  review  of  Mr. 
Pabst 's  records  shows  that  he  had  51  mares  of  pro- 
ducing age  in  1890  and  yet  raised  only  10  colts.  In  the 
absence  of  specific  data  it  must  be  concluded  that 
abortion  entered  the  stud;  a  large  number  of  his 
most  reliable  brood  mares  missed  foaling  in  1889  and 
1890,  as  is  definitely  shown  by  the  records. 

Burg,  Vigoreux  9218  (5615),  Voltaire  5316  (2221), 
and  Prince  Jerome  4445  (480)  were  the  chief  sires  in 
service,  although  some  16  or  18  other  horses  were 
used  to  a  slight  extent  at  various  times.  Burg  was 
the  leading  sire  and  remained  at  the  head  of  the 
stud  from  1885,  when  it  was  founded,  until  1890.  In 
that  year  he  was  sold  to  J.  B.  Johnson  of  Montford, 
Wis. 

As  an  individual  Burg  was  of  showyard  caliber. 
He  was  a  rather  blocky,  massive  type,  with  excep- 
tionally heavy  bone  and  a  good  deal  of  quality.  He 
was  quite  well  proportioned,  stylish,  of  all-around 
draft  qualities,  and  weighed  over  a  ton.  He  won  first 
as  a  two-year-old  at  the  annual  show  held  by  the 
Societe  Hippique  de  Percheronne  in  France  in  1884. 
He  was  not  shown  to  any  great  extent  in  America, 
but  was  first  in  the  class  for  stallion  and  ^ve  of  his 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  291 

get  at  the  Wisconsin  State  Fair  in  1888,  and  won  in 
the  same  class  at  the  International  Exposition  at 
Buffalo  in  1889.  In  many  respects  he  was  much  on 
the  type  of  Brilliant  1271.  He  was  sired  by  Rocham- 
beau  (1382),  a  half-brother  to  Brilliant  1271,  by  Bril- 
liant 1899.  The  colts  sired  by  Burg  were  uniform  in 
type,  chiefly  blacks  and  grays,  and  were  of  the 
massive  draft  pattern,  although  a  bit  more  blocky 
and  low-set  than  some  breeders  liked. 

Vigoreux,  a  massive  black  sired  by  Picador  2d, 
by  Picador  1st,  was  the  next  sire  in  rank.  Imported 
by  Mr.  Dunham,  from  whom  Capt.  Pabst  obtained 
him,  he  was  a  very  good  sort,  of  the  rugged,  mas- 
sive pattern.  Voltaire,  a  good  gray  of  the  Favori 
stock,  and  Prince  Jerome,  tracing  to  the  same  horse 
through  his  sire,  and  out  of  a  daughter  of  Coco  2d, 
were  also  good  stock-getters  and  left  some  good  colts 
at  Wauwatosa  Stock  Farm. 

Couronne  44-10  (1908)  was  sufficiently  good  as  a 
brood  mare  to  cause  Mr.  Pabst  to  use  3  of  her  sons 
to  some  degree  in  the  stud.  They  were  by  Burg. 
She  produced  4  colts  in  5  years,  every  one  a  stallion 
of  merit.  Favorite  4436  (4296),  Coquette  4433  (4295) 
and  Julie  4423  (4257)  were  other  good  brood  mares, 
producers  of  colts  that  were  winners  at  the  Wiscon- 
sin State  Fair  and  that  sold  at  excellent  prices. 
None  of  them  was  noted  for  the  number  of  colts 
produced,  however,  the  mares  being  mostly  shy 
breeders.  Rustique  5403  (2217)  was  the  only  really 
prolific  mare  in  the  lot.  Relatively  few  mares  were 
sold  from  this  farm  in  the  period  under  discussion. 


292  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

The  distribution  of  these  Percherons  will  be  con- 
sidered later. 

Kellogg  Stock  Farm. — Eufus  B.  Kellogg,  Green 
Bay,  Wis.,  was  a  wealthy  banker  and  land-owner,  a 
man  of  education  and  character.  He,  like  Mr.  Pabst, 
recognized  the  need  of  more  and  better  breeding 
stock  for  Wisconsin  farmers.  He  had  a  real  interest 
in  his  horses  and  studied  bloodlines  and  the  results 
of  various  matings  with  a  keen  and  analytical  mind. 
His  success  would  probably  have  been  greater  had 
he  been  a  more  competent  judge,  though  his  career 
was  cut  short  by  death  at  so  early  a  date — Septem- 
ber, 1891, — that  it  is  unfair  to  draw  general  con- 
clusions. He  was  taken  away  at  just  about  the  time 
when  the  results  of  his  work  were  becoming  suffi- 
ciently apparent  to  permit  of  the  elimination  of  the 
unreliable  breeding  stock.  His  farm  consisted  of 
600  acres  located  near  Green  Bay.  On  part  of  it  the 
town  of  DePere  now  stands.  The  land  in  this  section 
is  rather  rolling  but  affords  excellent  pasturage. 

Mr.  Kellogg 's  stud  was  founded  in  1881  by  the 
purchase  of  Chevalier  Bayard  1279  and  Zoe  840 
from  M.  W.  Dunham.  He  subsequently  made  some 
importations  of  his  own.  In  1882  he  brought  over  3 
stallions  and  12  mares,  and  in  1885  6  stallions  and  9 
mares.  Still  other  importations  were  made  at  later 
dates. 

Mr.  Kellogg 's  inventories  show  that  he  owned  in 
1886  47  Percherons  valued  at  $27,850,  an  average  of 
$592  each;  in  1887  68  Percherons  valued  at  $39,150, 
an  average  of  $575,  and  in  1890  76  Percherons  valued 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  293 

at  $32,700,  an  average  of  $430.  The  lowering  of  the 
average  value  was  due  to  the  fact  that  more  young 
horses  were  included  in  the  later  inventories  and  to 
the  depreciation  of  all  classes  of  live  stock.  The 
low  spot  was  reached  in  1893  and  '94,  but  the  de- 
pression was  evident  in  1890. 

The  records  in  the  Percheron  Society  of  America 
offices  show  that  Mr.  Kellogg  had  between  30  and 
40  mares  by  1890,  and  that  he  raised  24  stallions 
and  28  mares  of  his  own  breeding  between  1883  and 
1890.  Many  of  his  mares  were  not  imported  until 
1887,  but  the  mares  brought  over  in  1882  and  1884 
were  his  chief  reliance. 

The  Kellogg  Stallions. — Chevalier  Bayard  was  the 
first  sire  used.  He  left  3  fillies,  but  no  stallions. 
Waterloo  2199  (733),  foaled  in  1870,  was  imported 
in  1882  by  Mr.  Kellogg.  He  was  a  noted  stock  horse 
in  France  and  had  left  excellent  progeny.  He  had 
been  used  too  heavily  before  Mr.  Kellogg  obtained 
him,  however,  and  so  did  little  after  importation, 
though  he  begot  2  stallions  and  5  mares  at  the  Kel- 
logg Farm  stud. 

In  1883  Mr.  Kellogg  bought  Fenelon  2682,  a  horse 
that  history  has  stamped  as  one  of  the  three  greatest 
sons  of  Brilliant  1271.  He  had  been  imported  that 
same  year  and  because  of  acclimation  troubles 
proved  a  non-breeder  during  the  season,  failing  to 
settle  a  single  mare.  Mr.  Kellogg  already  had  been 
subjected  to  loss  because  Waterloo  was  not  a  sure 
breeder,  and  consequently  he  returned  Fenelon  to 
Mr.  Dunham  without  further  trial.    From  the  first 


294  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

he  had  given  much  attention  to  the  breeding  of  the 
best  horses  in  France  and  America  and  he  was  of 
the  opinion  that  a  sire  with  a  known  record  as  a 
getter  was  decidedly  better  than  a  yonng  one.  His 
purchase  of  Waterloo  had  been  guided  by  this  con- 
sideration. The  age  of  the  horse  and  the  fact  that 
he  proved  after  importation  to  be  a  shy  breeder 
troubled  Mr.  Kellogg.  Fenelon  's  failure  set  him  back 
again  and  he  was  forced  to  look  further  for  a  sire. 
Brilliant's  success  in  Oaklawn  stud  caused  him  to 
look  for  a  horse  of  somewhat  similar  breeding,  and 
he  finally  purchased  Narbonne  1334  (777)  in  1885. 
This  horse  was  foaled  in  1876  and  had  been  imported 
in  1881  by  M.  W.  Dunham,  who  sold  him  to  J.  Barnes 
&  Co.,  Shannon,  111.  Mr.  Kellogg  had  learned  that 
Narbonne  had  sired  many  good  things  in  France  and 
that  many  of  the  animals  imported  in  1882  and  1883 
were  by  him.  He  also  ascertained  that  Narbonne  was 
sired  by  Brilliant  1899  out  of  a  daughter  of  Favori 
1st,  and  he  liked  the  colts  sired  at  Shannon.  Ac- 
cordingly Narbonne  was  purchased  as  an  eight-year- 
old  in  1884.  He  sired  5  stallions  and  3  mares  for 
Mr.  Kellogg.  No  information  is  obtainable  as  to  his 
final  disposition,  but  from  the  fact  that  he  sired  colts 
at  the  Kellogg  Stock  Farm  in  1884,  '85,  and  '86  it 
must  be  concluded  that  Narbonne,  like  Waterloo, 
had  seen  too  much  service  before  Mr.  Kellogg  se- 
cured him. 

Non  Pareil  7248  (sans  Pareil  6870)  was  imported 
by  Mr.  Kellogg  in  1887.  He  was  a  gray  grandson 
of  Romulus  873  (785),  the  first-prize  aged  horse  at 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  295 

the  Universal  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1878,  and  out 
of  a  granddaughter  of  M.  Dupont^s  Favori.  He  was 
used  to  some  extent  in  1887  and  1888,  but  did  not 
leave  many  colts.  Two  or  three  other  sires  that  do 
not  appear  to  have  been  of  any  importance  were 
used  about  1888  and  1889,  but  in  1890  Mr.  Kellogg 
secured  the  horse  which  practically  made  the  repu- 
tation of  his  stud — Baccarat  11326  (18639). 

Baccarat  was  foaled  in  1887.  He  won  in  France 
in  1889  and  was  imported  in  that  year  by  W.  L. 
Ellwood.  He  won  second  in  the  three-year-old  class 
at  the  Chicago  Horse  Show  in  1890  for  Mr.  Kellogg, 
who  bought  him  at  a  price  reported  to  have  been 
the  highest  ever  paid  for  a  Percheron  stallion  up  to 
that  time.  He  proved  good  from  the  outset.  He 
was  used  in  1890  and  '91  and  sired  16  stallions  and 
8  mares  of  record.  Mr.  Kellogg 's  death  on  Sept.  24, 
1891,  was  exceedingly  unfortunate;  he  was  only  53 
years  old  and  was  just  developing  his  Percheron 
breeding  operations  to  a  point  where  real  progress 
could  be  made.  He  raised  19  colts  of  his  own  breed- 
ing in  1891  and  15  more  in  1892. 

Noted  Mares. — Mr.  Kellogg  had  no  inclination  to 
act  as  a  dealer  in  horses  and  his  selections  were  made 
for  his  own  stud.  He  sought  mares  of  size,  draft 
type  and  quality,  and  was  insistent  upon  uniformity. 
Among  the  mares  he  imported  were  some  which  he 
had  selected  because  of  their  records  as  brood  mares 
in  France.  Bijou  4668  (4644)  was  one  of  these.  She 
was  the  dam  of  Childebert  4283  (451),  by  Brilliant 
1271,  one  of  the  very  good  horses  imported  in  1885, 


296  A   HISTORY  OF   THE   PERCHERON   HORSE 

as  well  as  of  other  good  ones.  She  produced  only  2 
colts  for  Mr.  Kellogg,  but  they  were  winners.  Ben 
Boalt  4746,  her  first  colt  for  Mr.  Kellogg,  took  honors 
in  the  leading  shows  in  America  and  Fenelon  2d 
7007,  her  second,  was  also  of  showyard  character. 
Glorieuse  5226  (5970)  was  another  good  mare.  She 
won  second  in  the  class  for  four-year-olds  under 
1,750  pounds  at  the  Percheron  Society  show  in  1886, 
and  was  a  consistent  brood  mare,  raising  5  good  colts 
in  7  years.  Mr.  Kellogg  also  bought  Lorilee  G.  1532, 
one  of  the  most  noted  show  and  brood  mares  of  the 
Dillons.  Mignonette  7264  (5729)  was  another  good 
mare,  and  a  regular  producer.  The  mare  Tontine 
13129  (Bijou  21677)  was  valued  very  highly  by  Mr. 
Kellogg,  although  she  had  produced  nothing  prior  to 
his  death.  She  subsequently  became  a  valuable 
brood  mare. 

Mr.  Kellogg  was  a  progressive  breeder  and  appre- 
ciated the  value  of  showyard  exhibitions  from  edu- 
cational and  advertising  points  of  view.  Most  of  his 
winnings  were  made  at  the  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin 
state  fairs,  although  he  showed  a  few  at  Chicago. 
One  of  his  leading  contemporaries  says  of  him: 

"He  exhibited  mares  of  uniform  kind  and  his  ani- 
mals were  generally  commendable  for  draft  type, 
symmetry,  quality,  and  soundness.  Personally  Mr. 
Kellogg  was  a  gentleman,  thoroughly  reliable  in 
word  and  act,  and  at  all  times  courteous  and  honor- 
able. He  was  a  breeder  of  the  highest  type  and  ex- 
erted a  profound  influence  on  Percheron  affairs  in 
his  time.'' 

Influence  on  Other  Studs. — At  Mr.  Kellogg 's  death 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  297 

most  of  his  horses  went  to  H.  F.  Hagemeister,  of 
Green  Bay,  who  bought  them  from  the  estate  about 
1895  or  '96.  Nicholas  Schmidt,  Wrightstown,  Wis., 
bought  some  from  Mr.  Kellogg  in  1890.  William  H. 
Shaw,  Belvidere,  111.,  was  another  buyer.  Newton 
Eector,  Circleville,  0.,  made  purchases  from  Mr.  Kel- 
logg in  1891,  and  Jesse  M.  Stetson  bought  some  from 
the  estate.  Fearnaught  16302,  bred  by  Mr.  Kellogg, 
sired  by  Baccarat  out  of  Fashion  7263  (9179),  went 
to  head  Mr.  Stetson's  stable  and  sired  some  extra 
good  mares,  though  his  stallion  colts  were  not  of  such 
a  high  average.  This  tendency  on  the  part  of  sires 
to  get  better  animals  of  one  sex  than  of  the  other 
has  often  been  noticed  by  breeders  of  all  classes  of 
stock.    Fearnaught  was  distinctly  a  sire  of  mares. 

D.  G.  McKay,  Chippewa  Falls,  Wis.,  was  another 
purchaser  of  horses  from  Mr.  Kellogg  in  1891,  and 
B.  F.  Clark,  Eureka,  Wis.,  also  bought  some  in  the 
same  year.  Thomas  Wishart,  DePere,  Wis.,  and 
E.  C.  Clark,  Cadott,  Wis.,  were  other  buyers.  Mr. 
Hagemeister  obtained  most  of  the  animals,  however, 
purchasing  68  head  of  stallions,  mares  and  colts.  He 
also  secured  Baccarat  and  retained  him  until  1906, 
when  he  was  sold,  still  vigorous  at  19  years  of  age. 

Mr.  Kellogg 's  work  as  a  Percheron  breeder  has 
been  far-reaching.  He  sought  good  animals,  placing 
special  emphasis  on  underpinning  and  soundness. 
He  was  one  of  the  earliest  American  breeders  to 
appreciate  the  value  of  tried  sires  and  dams,  and 
emphasized  at  all  times  the  importance  of  accurate 
and  careful  breeding.     His  integrity,  courtesy  and 


298  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

broad  spirit  in  reviewing  his  own  or  his  contem- 
poraries' work  made  him  one  of  the  most  construc- 
tive breeders  of  his  time.  Percheron  interests  in 
America  suffered  a  very  great  loss  in  his  death  just 
when  he  was  on  the  threshold  of  achievement. 

Reserve  Forces  in  Illinois. — Illinois  had  a  total  of 
203  breeders  in  the  epoch  under  consideration  and  8 
out  of  the  first  20  breeders  in  the  United  States  re- 
sided there.  The  work  of  the  leaders  has  already 
been  discussed,  but  there  were  others  of  almost  equal 
prominence  who  must  be  considered. 

E.  Stetson  &  Sons,  of  Neponset,  111.,  with  63  head, 
Degen  Bros.,  of  Ottawa,  111.,  with  50  head,  George  S. 
Hanna  of  Bloomington,  111.,  with  48  head,  and  E. 
Hodgson,  of  Ottawa,  111.,  with  40  head,  all  recorded 
as  bred  by  the  parties  named,  stood  ninth,  thirteenth, 
and  eighteenth  respectively  among  the  first  20  breed- 
ers of  this  epoch. 

Stetson  &  Sons. — Ezra  Stetson,  Neponset,  111.,  be- 
came interested  in  Percheron s  at  a  very  early  date. 
He  owned  a  good  farm,  had  considerable  means,  and 
was  of  the  opinion  that  farming  operations  could  be 
much  more  efficiently  accomplished  if  farmers  had 
better  horses.  He  was  a  physician  of  high  character 
and  integrity  and  his  education  was  above  the  aver- 
age. He  recognized  the  futility  of  trying  to  improve 
the  common  horses  of  the  district  without  purebred 
sires  of  desirable  type  as  seed  stock,  and  with  this  in 
mind  he  made  an  importation  of  3  Percherons  in 
1874.  Two  were  stallions — Richard  Coeur  de  Lion 
406  and  Duke  de  Morny  152.     The  mare  was  Em- 


OTHER  PROMINENT   FIGURES  OF   THE  PERIOD  299 

press  Eugenie  545,  a  very  valuable  brood  matron. 
The  nucleus  formed  by  this  importation  was  added 
to  in  1882  by  the  purchase  of  2  stallions  and  6  mares 
at  the  W.  T.  Walters  sale.  The  original  sale  sheet 
made  out  in  Mr.  Walters^  own  handwriting  is  here 
presented: 


~/7  ^  y       Baltimore.     .^^^^2^^^^    , 

'^        Bought  of  W.;T.  WALTERS  &  CO.  ^ 

No.  68   EXCHANGE   PLACE. 

C*>  *<«^/M^^   C't^iy^^^/ni.     et^^^;^!^      /P^i/Tl  a.'l^f^'^         /^7'S^4>t> 


ao 


lZ■^^:i^  "  ^J'c 


^  aa 


ao 


5^ 


An  importation  of  4  stallions  and  5  mares  was 
made  from  France  in  1883.    Very  few  mares  were 


300  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

purchased  after  this,  but  nearly  all  the  females  pro- 
duced were  kept  and  the  stud  soon  grew  to  large 
proportions. 

Mares  Owned  and  Colts  Raised. — An  examination 
of  the  old  stud  records  kept  by  Ezra  Stetson  shows 
that  14  Percheron  mares  were  bred  in  1883.  Eight 
of  these  foaled,  but  the  Percheron  Society  records 
show  that  he  recorded  only  5  colts  of  his  own  breed- 
ing, so  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  colts  died  or 
were  altered  before  time  for  registration. 

The  number  of  colts  raised  gradually  increased. 
In  1885  5  were  foaled  to  be  recorded  subsequently, 
in  1886  6,  in  1887  6,  in  1888  10,  in  1889  8,  and  in 
1890  15.  Altogether  Stetson  &  Sons  raised  33  stal- 
lions and  30  mares  of  their  own  breeding  between 
1881  and  1890. 

Dr.  Stetson  bred  and  raised  4  Percherons  prior  to 
1880,  all  out  of  Empress  Eugenie.  She  raised  7  foals 
altogether,  most  of  which  were  very  good.  Three  of 
the  mares  were  retained  in  the  stud  and  proved  valu- 
able producers. 

The  Stetson  Sires. — Richard  Coeur  de  Lion  was 
the  first  sire  used  and  one  of  the  best.  He  was  a 
rather  large,  rugged  gray,  a  bit  upstanding,  but 
fairly  well  balanced.  On  the  whole  his  colts  were 
larger  than  most  of  those  begot  by  later  sires  used 
by  Dr.  Stetson;  the  older  breeders,  still  living,  who 
knew  him,  consider  that  he  was  probably  the  best 
sire  used  in  the  first  20  years.  He  sired  only  5  pure- 
bred colts  for  Dr.  Stetson  but  his  get  out  of  grade 
mares  in  the  country  did  much  good.    He  stood  in 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  301 

Michigan  in  1877,  but  afterwards  returned  to  the 
Stetson  stud. 

Duke  de  Morny  152,  imported  with  the  others  in 
1874,  sired  only  3  purebreds  for  the  doctor,  but  he 
also  proved  a  valuable  getter  of  grade  stock  out  of 
the  mares  in  that  section  and  his  descendants  are 
valued  to  this  day.  Torreador  1140  (1607)  was  the 
next  sire  used  to  any  extent.  He  was  in  the  Walters 
purchase  of  1882  and  sired  12  stallions  and  7  mares  in 
Dr.  Stetson's  stud.  Monarch  1128  (1606),  the  other 
stallion  bought  at  the  same  time,  was  also  used 
slightly.  Victor  1141  (1600),  imported  by  Mr.  Wal- 
ters, was  sold  to  S.  W.  Ficklin  in  1882,  but  was  pur- 
chased by  Dr.  Stetson  about  1886.  He  was  used  more 
liberally  than  any  other  sire  at  that  time.  A  gray, 
foaled  in  1874,  he  was  a  horse  of  great  style  and 
quality,  but  upstanding  and  lacking  in  depth  of  rib 
and  size  of  middle.  Mr.  Walters  gives  his  height  as 
17.1  hands,  but  this  is  probably  a  bit  too  much.  He 
was  close  to  17  hands,  however,  but  too  light  in  the 
barrel  for  modern  standards.  The  best  that  can  be 
said  is  that  he  imparted  much  style  and  quality  to 
the  Stetson  stock  at  the  expense  of  some  of  the  draft 
attributes  which  were  more  needed. 

Valuable  Brood  Mares. — Empress  Eugenie  was  a 
brood  mare  of  more  than  average  value.  Two  of  her 
daughters  were  retained  and  one  of  them,  Maria 
Louisa  835,  proved  to  be  a  fairly  good  breeder.  The 
best-known  son  of  Empress  Eugenie  was  Leroi  1743, 
sired  by  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion.  He  was  sold  into 
Ohio,  near  Cardington,  and  is  rated  as  one  of  the  best 


302  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

of  the  sires  used  in  that  section  in  the  '80 's.  Flora 
1119,  foaled  in  1880,  and  Zoe  1142,  imported  in  1881, 
were  among  the  mares  bought  from  Mr.  Walters  in 
1882.  Zoe  raised  a  colt  in  1882  but  did  not  have 
another  of  record  until  1889,  after  which  she  settled 
down  and  foaled  9.  Flora  did  somewhat  better.  She 
produced  her  first  colt  when  three  years  of  age  and 
foaled  4  in  succession,  missed  2  years,  raised  8  in  8 
successive  years,  missed  a  year,  and  then  foaled  3 
more  in  3  years — a  total  of  15  between  1883  and  1900, 
a  record  that  has  been  equaled  by  very  few  mares. 
The  first  8  were  stallions,  followed  by  2  fillies,  3  stal- 
lions, and  2  more  fillies,  a  total  of  11  stallions  and 
4  fillies.  Her  colts  on  the  whole  were  good,  though 
the  later  ones  by  Fearnaught  excelled  the  earlier  by 
other  sires. 

Not  much  showyard  work  was  done  by  the  Stet- 
sons, but  quiet,  steady  advertising  was  resorted  to 
and  a  great  many  Percheron  stallions  were  sold  and 
distributed  over  a  wide  range  of  territory.  No  effort 
was  made  to  sell  the  mares  as  it  was  desired  to  in- 
crease the  stud  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

Dr.  Stetson's  influence  was  not  as  far-reaching  as 
that  of  some  of  his  contemporaries,  but  it  was  never- 
theless of  value.  He  was  a  man  of  lofty  character 
and  high  ideals,  and  engaged  in  the  business  because 
he  felt  the  necessity  of  making  better  draft  blood 
available  to  American  farmers.  His  words  and  acts 
were  such  as  to  assist  in  putting  the  business  on  an 
honorable  basis. 

Degen  Bros. — The  firm  of  Degen  Bros.,  Ottawa, 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  303 

111.,  was  quite  active  during  the  period  under  con- 
sideration. The  Degens  were  dealers,  but  handled 
some  mares  and  bred  some  good  colts.  They  exhib- 
ited many  horses  at  the  leading  fairs  and  were  quite 
successful,  but  their  stock  appears  to  have  been  so 
scattered  as  to  have  been  almost  lost  to  sight.  They 
bred  24  stallions  and  19  mares  during  the  time  we 
are  considering.  These  were  sired  by  10  different 
stallions,  so  it  is  evident  that  their  breeding  opera- 
tions were  incidental.  The  stallion  L'Ami  6239 
(1649)  was  imported  by  this  firm  and  left  a  few 
colts  in  their  stud.  He  subsequently  won  first  at 
the  Ohio  State  Fair  in  1888  and  is  now  considered 
to  have  been  one  of  the  best  stock  horses  used  in 
Ohio. 

George  S.  Hanna. — George  S.  Hanna,  a  lawyer  of 
Bloomington,  111.,  had  a  stud  of  Percherons  which 
achieved  more  than  a  local  reputation.  His  early 
stock  was  imported  by  George  W.  Stubblefield,  who 
also  imported  several  of  the  sires  used  in  this  stud. 
Mr.  Hanna 's  operations  were  on  farms  near  Bloom- 
ington. He  himself  gave  little  attention  to  the  busi- 
ness, and  his  Percheron  breeding  seems  to  have  been 
carried  on  as  an  incident  to  farming.  George  W. 
Stubblefield  was  one  of  his  chief  advisers  and  helped 
sell  some  of  the  surplus  produced. 

The  Hanna  stud  was  established  in  1882.  The 
number  of  colts  produced  gradually  increased  until 
in  1887  10  colts  of  Mr.  Hanna 's  own  breeding  were 
raised.  By  1890  24  stallions  and  a  like  number  of 
mares  had  been  raised.    No  records  are  available  as 


304  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

to  the  number  of  mares  owned  during  this  time,  but 
they  evidently  totalled  a  fair  number. 

The  chief  sires  used  were  Vigoreux  3177  (403),  a 
black,  imported  by  Mr.  Stubblefield  in  1881,  and 
Bendago  11807,  bred  by  M.  W.  Dunham.  Bendago 
was  sired  by  Brilliant  1271  out  of  Julia  5676  (7015). 
He  was  not  used  until  1891,  and  was  in  active  service 
for  three  years.  King's  Europe  8258,  bred  by  S.  N. 
King  and  sired  by  Extrador  4525  (386)  out  of  Jessie 
6096  (1660),  was  another  which  has  left  a  good  repu- 
tation in  central  Illinois,  though  used  but  slightly  in 
this  stud. 

Beauty  6480  was  a  mare  of  Mr.  Hanna's  breeding 
so  well  thought  of  that  he  bred  her  to  Fenelon  2682 
(38)  in  1889.  To  this  service  she  produced  Fenelo 
14118,  a  mare  which  later  proved  a  good  breeder 
under  the  ownership  of  F.  E.  Waters  and  Cyrus  Orr. 
Mattie  18116  later  passed  into  the  ownership  of 
Hanna  &  Co.,  Howard,  Kans.,  and  proved  a  good 
producer.  Eosalie  18843,  bred  by  Mr.  Hanna,  proved 
to  be  a  good  producer  under  the  ownership  of  F.  T. 
Fowler,  F.  H.  Schrepel  and  Murrie  Bros.  None  of 
the  mares  owned  by  Mr.  Hanna  was  especially 
prolific,  but  a  number  of  them  produced  more  colts 
than  were  raised,  the  losses  being  considerable,  as 
they  are  on  every  farm  where  the  owner  can  give 
but  slight  attention  to  the  work. 

Mr.  Hanna  closed  out  his  Percheron  interests  in 
1894  by  sale  and  trade.  Among  the  purchasers  were 
F.  T.  Fowler  of  Illinois,  F.  E.  Waters  of  Iowa,  Hanna 
&  Co.,  F.  H.  Schrepel  and  J.  W.  &  J.  C.  Robison  of 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  305 

Kansas,  and  J.  H.  Mosby  of  Missouri.  Other  animals 
of  Mr.  Hannahs  breeding  were  scattered  here  and 
there  throughout  central  Illinois  in  the  hands  of 
fanners,  and  much  of  the  stock  has  undoubtedly  been 
lost  because  of  neglecting  the  registration.  Much 
good  has  accrued  through  the  existence  of  this  stud, 
however;  it  aided  materially  in  the  dissemination  of 
good  Percherons,  helped  greatly  in  improving  the 
common  stock  of  the  country  and  contributed 
towards  the  fast  gaining  popularity  of  the  breed. 

E.  Hodgson  &  Son. — Eli  Hodgson,  whose  earlier 
operations  have  already  been  reviewed,  took  his 
son,  M.  C.  Hodgson,  into  partnership  in  1868,  so 
that  the  firm  was  in  reality  Hodgson  &  Son  from 
the  outset.  The  second  and  last  importation  made 
by  this  firm  was  in  1881.  This  consisted  of  5  stal- 
lions and  11  mares.  Only  one  mare  had  been  im- 
ported in  1874,  so  that  the  purchases  in  1881  really 
formed  the  foundation  of  the  stud.  More  than  usual 
interest  attaches  to  the  Hodgson  collection  because 
of  the  fact  that  it  is  one  of  the  few  Percheron  studs 
in  America  that  has  been  held  intact  and  continued 
by  three  generations  in  one  family.  Its  chronology 
is  as  follows:  Eli  Hodgson  from  1859  to  1868;  Eli 
Hodgson  &  Son,  M.  C,  from  1868  until  Eli  Hodgson's 
death  in  1890;  M.  C.  Hodgson  from  1890  until  1908, 
when  it  became  what  it  now  is,  M.  C.  Hodgson  & 
Sons,  E.  E.  and  E.  ^Y. 

The  original  Hodgson  farm  contained  480  acres  in 
one  tract,  which  has  since  been  reduced  to  320.  It 
was  located  about  3  miles  from  Ottawa  in  one  of 


306  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

the  richest  farming  sections  in  Illinois.  General 
live  stock  farming  was  followed  from  the  outset  and 
the  Percheron  mares  always  had  to  earn  their  way 
in  harness.  The  firm  owned  more  than  40  mares 
in  1885,  but  only  14  or  15  of  these  were  Percherons, 
Few  Percheron  colts  were  foaled  at  first,  but  3  were 
raised  in  1885,  and  the  number  gradually  increased 
each  year,  until  by  1890  21  stallions  and  19  mares 
of  their  own  breeding  had  been  produced. 

French  Victor  6088  (6125),  a  gray,  was  the  great- 
est of  the  early  sires  used  by  the  Hodgsons  and 
one  of  the  best  they  ever  owned.  He  was  bought 
as  a  suckling  colt  in  France  by  E.  Hodgson,  who, 
with  other  American  buyers,  considered  the  dam 
Eapide  (6124),  by  Brilliant  1899,  one  of  the  greatest 
Percheron  mares  in  France.  French  Victor  was  by 
Philibert  (760)  and  was  consequently  close  akin  in 
breeding  to  La  Ferte  5144  (452),  one  of  the  most 
noted  show  horses  and  sires  ever  brought  to  this 
country.  They  were  sired  by  the  same  stallion  and 
both  were  out  of  daughters  of  Brilliant  1899.  Hodg- 
son exhibited  French  Victor  at  the  Illinois  State 
Fair  in  1885  and  won  first  in  the  four-year-old  class. 
French  Victor  was  not  shown  to  any  extent  subse- 
quently, but  was  freely  used  in  the  stud  and  was 
just  coming  into  general  notice  as  a  sire  when  his 
death  occurred  in  1889  from  colic.  His  daughters 
were  considered  to  be  among  the  best  ever  bred  by 
the  firm. 

Bernard  10570  and  Loran  B.  10567,  foaled  in  1886 
and  1887  respectively,  both  sired  by  French  Victor 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  307 

out  of  Margot  4563  (2826),  were  used  to  some  extent, 
but  the  next  sire  of  consequence  was  Parfait  3d 
10727  (12939).  This  stallion,  a  black,  was  imported 
by  W.  L.  Ellwood  in  1889.  He  was  a  massive  draft 
horse  and  got  some  very  good  colts,  but  did  not 
nick  nearly  so  well  on  the  daughters  of  French  Victor 
as  did  Confident  3647  (397),  owned  by  Nagle  &  Son 
at  Grand  Ridge,  111.,  near  Ottawa.  In  the  judgment 
of  good  horsemen,  including  M.  C.  Hodgson  himself, 
one  of  the  worst  errors  the  firm  ever  made  was  in 
not  purchasing  Confident  to  follow  French  Victor; 
he  was  a  tried  sire  of  the  same  line  of  breeding  and 
his  colts  were  distinctly  better  than  those  of  any 
other  sire  used  on  the  daughters  of  French  Victor. 
Georgiana  10578  (6123),  Lady  Tacheau  10520 
(6119)  and  Margot  4563  (2826)  were  some  of  the 
best  brood  mares  in  the  Hodgson  stud  during  the 
'80 's.  Georgiana  produced  to  the  service  of  French 
Victor  the  mare  Georgiana  2d  15099,  considered  by 
the  Hodgsons  to  have  been  the  greatest  mare  they 
ever  raised;  she  also  produced  other  good  colts. 
Lady  Tacheau  was  a  regular  producer  of  good  ones, 
the  best  being  Lady  Tacheau  2d  15100.  Two  of 
Margot 's  colts  were  considered  good  enough  to  use 
in  the  stud.  The  most  interesting  thing  about  these 
mares,  to  a  breeder,  is  the  way  they  have  bred  on. 
Two  of  the  greatest  mares  ever  owned  in  the  stud, 
and  still  living,  are  Hattie  2d  23757  and  Lisette  2d 
21574.  They  were  foaled  in  1899  and  1898  and  are 
granddaughters  of  Georgiana  2d  and  Lady  Tacheau 
2d  respectively;  they  are  both  by  Confident;  both 


308  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

have  been  unusual  brood  mares.    Details  concerning 
their  records  will  be  given  later. 

Ohio  Breeders. — Although  none  of  the  breeders 
in  Ohio  bred  enough  colts  to  be  included  among  the 
first  20  breeders  of  the  United  States  during  this 
period,  there  were  a  number  of  small  breeders  who 
bred  some  excellent  Percherons.  Jones  Bros,  were 
the  leaders,  and  Samuel  Kendeigh,  M.  V.  Bates, 
E.  J.  Condit,  C.  DeLano  and  J.  M.  Carr  also  bred  a 
goodly  number. 

Jones  Bros. — The  firm  of  Jones  Bros.,  Plain  City, 
O.,  consisted  of  Albert  and  C.  M.  Jones,  sons  of 
Thomas  Jones,  whose  early  operations  have  already 
been  discussed.  The  active  direction  of  affairs  rested 
with  C.  M.  Jones.  He  had  been  associated  in  the 
business  with  his  father  since  1864,  but  bred  and 
recorded  a  few  animals  of  his  own  from  1878  on.  In 
1883  Thomas  Jones  discontinued  operations  and  the 
horses  passed  to  the  sons.  Thomas  Jones  bred  3, 
C.  M.  Jones  6,  and  Jones  Bros.  31  during  this  period 
— a  total  of  40  Percherons  from  the  one  farm. 

The  Jones  farm,  on  which  Percherons  have  been 
bred  since  1864,  in  the  hands  of  two  generations,  is 
located  at  the  edge  of  Plain  City.  It  is  not  large 
and  there  never  were  more  than  10  mares  of  produc- 
ing age  kept  at  one  time.  The  development  of  this 
stud  and  its  maintenance  on  the  one  farm  in  an 
unbroken  line  for  42  years  (1864  to  1916)  is  particu- 
larly interesting  and  significant  to  other  farmers 
who  desire  to  breed  a  few  good  Percherons  in  the 
course  of  their  ordinary  farming  operations.    Much 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  309 

of  the  time  the  number  of  producing  mares  was  less 
than  10.  The  number  of  colts  raised  and  recorded 
annually  varied  from  1  to  7. 

A  good  foundation  for  the  stud  had  been  laid 
by  Thomas  Jones.  Eose  604  and  3  of  her  daughters, 
all  by  Normandy  351,  had  been  bred  to  Ajax  5,  and 
from  this  foundation  some  excellent  females  were 
produced.  Between  the  time  when  Ajax  dropped  out 
and  the  purchase  of  Greluchet  11333  (21165)  in  1889 
the  firm  had  no  stallion  of  consequence;  the  best 
mares  were  bred  to  horses  owned  by  other  parties. 
Napoleon  328,  Valor  951,  Mignon  6090  (2894),  Lion 
273,  and  L'Ami  6239  (1649)  were  among  the  sires 
so  used. 

Lion  was  one  of  the  best  of  these  stallions.  He 
was  owned  by  W.  H.  Case  &  Co.  at  Delaware.  This 
horse  was  a  gray,  about  16.2  hands  high  and  weighed 
between  1,800  and  1,900  pounds  in  breeding  condi- 
tion. He  was  a  well-balanced  horse  of  drafty  pat- 
tern, good  in  the  underpinning  and  with  proper 
action.  His  best  son,  Martell  2491,  bred  by  the 
Joneses,  was  out  of  Norma  1779,  a  daughter  of  Ajax. 
Martell  was  sold  as  a  yearling  in  1883  for  $500.  His 
purchaser,  J.  P.  Thompson,  kept  and  used  him  till 
1888,  when  he  won  the  silver  cup  at  the  Ohio  State 
Fair  for  the  best  Percheron  stallion  bred  in  Ohio. 
He  was  sold  immediately  afterward  to  a  man  near 
Cleveland  for  $2,000,  but  sired  no  purebred  colts 
after  leaving  Thompson's  ownership. 

Mignon,  commonly  known  as  '  ^  Mingo  Chief, ' '  was 
another  good  sire  used  in  Delaware  county  and  pat- 


310  A  HISTORY  OF  THEj  PERCHERON  HORSE 

ronized  by  Jones  Bros.  They  raised  4  good  colts 
sired  by  him.  This  sire  appears  to  have  left  an 
unusually  good  lot  of  colts.  He  was  a  black,  foaled 
in  1880,  and  imported  in  1884  by  J.  G.  Kemp.  He 
was  sold  in  1888  to  Charles  McCurdy,  who  appar- 
ently managed  to  acquire  several  of  the  best  sires 
used  in  Ohio  at  this  period.  Mignon  was  a  big, 
thick  horse  of  excellent  proportions  and  good  qual- 
ity. He  was  a  grandson  of  Brilliant  1899  through 
Bon  Espoir  1270  (753),  and  adds  more  luster  to 
the  fame  of  the  Brilliant  strain. 

L'Ami  was  owned  by  parties  at  Cardington,  0.  Mr. 
Jones  sent  some  mares  to  be  bred  to  him  and  among 
the  colts  obtained  Austerlitz  9145.  This  horse  was 
a  gray,  out  of  the  mare  Clio  2496.  He  was  a  high- 
class  individual  and  stood  for  years  in  the  vicinity 
of  Delaware,  O.,  where  Mr.  Jones  sold  him.  He 
proved  an  extremely  valuable  stud  horse,  a  getter  of 
excellent  geldings  that  were  real  market-toppers,  and 
he  got  a  few  good  purebred  colts  as  well.  The  mare 
that  is  now  considered  the  most  valuable  brood  mare 
in  Delaware  county,  Delia  65193,  was  sired  by 
Austerlitz  and  her  dam  was  by  Martell  2491. 

Greluchet  was  the  first  sire  of  note  bought  by  the 
Jones  firm  after  the  death  of  Ajax.  He  was  imported 
by  Mark  W.  Dunham  as  a  yearling  in  1889  and  was 
selected  by  C.  M.  Jones  immediately  after  his  impor- 
tation as  the  best  colt  out  of  19  yearling  sons  of  Bril- 
liant 3d.  He  was  about  16.3  hands  high  and  weighed 
about  1,900  pounds  in  fair  breeding  condition.  In 
color  he  was  black  with  a  small  star.    Greluchet  was 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  311 

well-balanced,  with  extra  good  feet  and  legs;  lie  liad  a 
typical  Perclieron  head,  good  neck  and  sloping  shoul- 
ders ;  he  was  deep-bodied  and  massive,  strong  in  back 
and  loin,  with  a  fairly  level  croup  and  heavily- 
muscled  hindquarters.  He  had  quality  and  much 
style  and  action.  He  was  used  in  the  Jones  stud 
from  1890  till  1898.  A  discussion  of  his  get  will  be 
taken  up  later. 

In  the  20  years  from  1880  to  1900  no  mares  save 
those  of  their  own  breeding  were  used  in  the  Jones 
stud,  with  one  exception.  One  mare,  and  only  one 
was  bought.  The  mares  used  were  all  of  one  founda- 
tion family  and  what  outside  blood  was  infused  came 
through  the  sires.  The  foundation  matrons  were 
good  and  as  a  result  some  extra  good  brood  mares 
were  developed  in  the  stud.  Rose  604  was  the  real 
foundation  mare.  She  had  three  daughters,  Maggie 
578,  Belle  522  and  Dido  539,  foaled  in  1869,  1870  and 
1871  respectively.  All  were  by  Noraiandy  351.  Belle 
proved  decidedly  the  best  of  the  three,  individually 
and  as  a  brood  mare.  She  was  a  well-proportioned 
mare  of  good  quality  and  was  noted  for  her  fiery 
temperament.  Norma  1779  and  Alice  1781  were  her 
two  best  daughters;  both  were  by  Ajax.  She  pro- 
duced 10  colts  of  record  in  14  years. 

Belle,  Nonna,  Alice,  Clio  2496,  Grisette  1778, 
Helena  1786  and  Little  1785  were  the  real  producers 
in  this  stud  during  the  '80 's,  and  most  of  the  good 
things  bred  on  this  stock  farm  have  descended 
through  some  of  these  dams.  NoiTQa,  Alice  and 
Grisette  Avere  the  most  valuable  brood  mares.    They 


312  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

were  regular  producers,  raising  9,  9  and  7  colts  of 
record  respectively,  besides  some  that  were  cas- 
trated or  that  died  before  being  recorded.  Besides 
this,  their  colts  were  good  in  type,  size  and  quality 
and  sold  for  good  prices,  especially  Normals  colts. 
Martell  2491  was  the  best  colt  she  raised  during  the 
time  mentioned.  Alice  produced  Clio,  the  dam  of  the 
good  stock  horse  Austerlitz,  already  considered. 

No  showing  of  any  consequence  was  practiced  by 
the  Joneses  during  this  period,  although  the  firm  did 
win  second  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair  in  1888  on  Druid 
in  the  yearling  stallion  class.  A  few  sales  were  made, 
but  they  were  scattered. 

Samuel  Kendeigh. — Samuel  Kendeigh  began  in  a 
small  way  in  1884,  and  continued  breeding  Percher- 
ons'till  1900.  Buckeye  Mark  4666  was  the  only  ani- 
mal of  note  bred  by  him  during  the  earlier  period  of 
his  work.  This  horse  was  out  of  Veranda  2747 
(1571)  and  sired  by  Brilliant  1271.  Buckeye  Mark 
developed  into  a  very  good  individual  and  was  used 
for  some  time  at  the  head  of  the  stud.  He  was  shown 
at  the  Ohio  State  Fair  in  1888,  where  he  won  second 
in  the  regular  class  for  three-year-old  stallions. 

Mr.  Kendeigh 's  operations  were  enlarged  after 
this,  and  there  are  18  colts  of  record  bred  and  raised 
by  him  up  to  1890.  His  foundation  stock  was  prac- 
tically all  drawn  from  Mark  W.  Dunham  of  Oak- 
lawn  Farm. 

M.  V.  Bates. — Capt.  M.  V.  Bates,  a  giant  in  stature, 
who  at  one  time  turned  his  size  to  cash  account  with 
the  Barnum  shows,  established  a  Percheron  stud  on 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  313 

his  farm  near  Seville,  0.,  a  sliort  distance  from  Mr. 
Kendeigli  's.  Capt.  Bates  also  secured  Ms  foundation 
stock,  a  stallion  and  3  mares,  from  M.  W.  Dunham. 
Bates  ^  operations  began  in  1884  and  continued  till 
1900.  He  achieved  no  special  success,  and  the  horses 
he  had  were  smaller  than  modern-type  Percherons, 
but  he  did  aid  in  distributing  and  popularizing  Per- 
cherons in  Ohio.  Twelve  colts  of  record  were  raised 
by  1890.    His  sales  were  chiefly  local. 

E.  J.  Condit. — Located  at  Condit,  Delaware  Co., 
0.,  E.  J.  Condit  was  one  of  the  earliest  of  the  Ohio 
breeders.  His  operations  were  on  a  small  scale. 
Although  he  began  in  1882,  he  had  raised  by  1890 
only  11  colts  of  his  own  breeding.  Thirty-nine  colts 
were  bred  and  raised  during  the  next  decade. 

Iowa's  Percheron  Breeders. — A.  W.  Cook,  Charles 
City,  la.,  has  the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  man 
to  take  an  imported  Percheron  to  Iowa.  This  was 
the  stallion  Duke  of  Normandy  (John  Sheridan)  168. 
The  horse  was  bought  by  Cook  in  1869  from  Peter 
Bland,  Milford  Center,  0.,  where  he  had  been  in 
service  one  year.  Cook  kept  him  till  1874,  when  he 
sold  him  in  March  to  Jacob  Erb  &  Co.,  Ames,  la., 
where  he  died  the  following  August.  Mr.  Cook  also 
has  the  honor  of  breeding  the  first  Percheron  of 
record  in  Iowa.  Three  mares  were  bought  by  him 
from  B.  H.  Campbell  of  Illinois  early  in  1875.  These 
mares  raised  fillies  foaled  in  1876,  and  it  is  from 
this  date  that  Percheron  breeding  in  Iowa  starts. 

Only  6  American-bred  Percherons  were  raised  in 
Iowa  up  to  1880,  but  operations  expanded  rapidly. 


314  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Before  1890  951  stallions  and  123  mares  were  im- 
ported directly  to  Iowa,  and  Iowa  farmers  proved 
to  be  liberal  buyers  of  the  best  horses  brought  over 
by  importers  located  in  other  states.  As  a  conse- 
quence, Percheron  breeding  was  so  increased  that 
132  stallions  and  160  mares,  bred  in  Iowa,  were 
raised  by  1890,  and  the  distribution  of  both  mares 
and  stallions  was  more  general  in  this  state  than  in 
any  other  except  Illinois. 

Mr.  Cook's  purchases  were  made  in  France  and 
from  Degen  Bros,  and  B.  H.  Campbell  of  Illinois. 
W.  W.  &  Al  Power  of  Pulaski,  la.,  who  were,  next 
to  Cook,  the  earliest  Percheron  breeders  in  the  state, 
obtained  their  foundation  stock  from  the  Dillons  of 
Normal,  111. 

Iowa  Breeders  of  the  '80's. — Altogether  there  were 
66  breeders  of  Percherons  in  Iowa  during  this  time, 
but  nearly  all  owned  only  a  few  head.  The  leading 
breeders  in  the  state,  so  far  as  number  of  animals 
bred  is  concerned,  were  Singmaster  &  Sons,  J.  H. 
Barnett,  John  Lenhart,  D.  M.  Baughman,  D.  Brown- 
son  &  Sons,  P.  P.  &  L.  H.  Humbert  and  M.  L.  Ayres, 
but  there  were  men  of  real  metal  among  the  smaller 
breeders  whose  stock  has  since  come  into  prominence. 

Maplehurst  Stock  Farm. — On  the  fertile  prairies 
near  Keota,  la.,  Samuel  Singmaster  had  located  in 
1843.  His  sons,  William  and  Charles  F.,  grew  into 
the  business  with  him  and  by  1874  the  family  was 
possessed  of  extensive  holdings  of  good  Iowa  land. 
William,  a  bachelor,  was  the  most  keenly  interested 
in  horses  and  prevailed  upon  his  father  to  finance 


C,  R.  Coleman  ]  ^  [  c/  O.Singmaster  \ 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  315 

an  importation  in  1875.  The  horses  were  selected 
by  William  Singmaster,  bnt  the  business  was 
handled  under  the  name  of  Singmaster  &  Sons.  Four 
Percheron  stallions  constituted  the  first  importation. 
No  more  were  brought  over  until  1883  and  1884, 
when  other  importations,  including  both  mares  and 
stallions,  were  made.  Percheron  breeding  by  this 
firm  really  started  in  1885.  Two  colts  of  their  own 
breeding  were  raised  in  1886,  2  more  in  1887,  12  in 
1888,  and  by  1890  14  stallions  and  27  mares  of  their 
own  breeding  had  been  produced. 

Eomer  7596  (7471)  and  Francillon  9842  (10428) 
were  the  most  important  sires  used  and  were  im- 
ported in  1887  and  1888  respectively.  Both  were 
horses  of  showyard  caliber,  and  both  won  first  hon- 
ors in  class  at  the  Iowa  State  Fair.  Due  Doudaville 
2d  11695  (12685),  imported  in  1889,  was  another 
good  horse,  champion  at  the  Iowa  State  Fair  in  1890, 
and  extensively  used  in  the  stud  during  the  next 
decade. 

J.  H.  Barnett. — J.  H.  Barnett,  of  Indianola,  la., 
was  one  of  the  earliest  of  lowa^s  Percheron  breeders, 
beginning  in  1883.  He  did  not  own  many  Percher- 
ons  and  raised  only  15  of  his  own  breeding  by  1890, 
but  his  horses  were  good  in  type,  and  he  won  a  num- 
ber of  prizes  in  the  open  classes  at  the  Iowa  State 
Fair  in  1885,  '86,  '87,  '88,  '89  and  '90.  He  contrib- 
uted materially  to  the  popularity  of  Percherons  in 
the  central  part  of  Iowa,  and  encouraged  many  other 
breeders  to  make  a  start  with  Percherons. 

Other  Breeders. — D.  M.  Baughman,  Pulaski,  la., 


316  A  HISTORY  OP   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

John  Lenhart,  Clarksville,  la.,  tlie  Humberts  of 
Corning,  la.,  and  M.  L.  Ayres,  Shenandoah,  la.,  all 
made  a  beginning  in  Percheron  breeding  in  the  late 
'80  ^s,  but  had  no  more  than  made  a  fair  start  by 
the  end  of  the  epoch  we  are  considering. 

Further  Consideration  of  Illinois. — Lest  it  be 
thought  that  Illinois  is  receiving  undue  attention,  it 
must  again  be  noted  that  more  than  one-third  of  all 
of  the  breeders  in  the  United  States  up  to  1890  were 
located  in  that  state.  We  have  now  to  deal  with 
the  operations  of  men  who  although  not  among  the 
leaders  in  the  state  were  nevertheless  men  of  influ- 
ence in  Percheron  affairs. 

Leander  J.  McCormick,  for  many  years  in  active 
charge  of  the  McCormick  reaper  interests,  retired 
from  active  business  about  1885.  He  shortly  after- 
ward purchased  250  acres  near  Lake  Forest,  111.,  a 
short  distance  north  of  Chicago.  He  soon  added 
200  acres  more  and  set  out  to  develop  a  stock-farm. 
Jersey  and  Brown  Swiss  cattle  were  imported.  Per- 
cherons  were  selected  as  the  breed  of  horses  best 
suited  to  Mr.  McCormick 's  ideas  of  American  needs, 
and  the  stud  was  founded  by  direct  importations. 

Accompanied  by  his  son,  R.  Hall  McCormick,  who 
had  inherited  a  love  for  good  horses,  L.  J.  McCor- 
mick went  to  France  in  1887.  Eighteen  animals  were 
selected.  Martignac  (10437)  was  chosen  as  the  best 
two-year-old  obtainable  in  the  Perche,  and  was 
bought  from  M.  Tacheau  at  a  very  long  price.  He 
was  up'on  importation  renamed  Reaper  8076  (Mar- 
tignac 10437)  and  so  appears  in  the  Percheron  rec- 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  317 

orcls  in  America.  Fourteen  head  more  were  im- 
ported in  1888.  Twenty-eight  of  the  32  head  were 
mares.  Twelve  stallions  and  an  equal  number  of 
mares  were  bred  and  raised  by  the  Messrs.  Mc- 
Cormick  by  1890  inclusive. 

Reaper  was  by  Confident  3647  (397),  one  of  Bril- 
liant 1271 's  greatest  sons,  and  was  one  of  the  best 
of  his  time.  He  stood  about  17.1  hands  high, 
weighed  more  than  2,100  pounds,  and  was  a  big,  mas- 
sive black,  with  great  draft  character.  He  had  a 
very  good  head,  a  well-set  neck  and  excellent  under- 
pinning. The  mares  were  a  fairly  good  lot,  but  not 
so  outstanding  as  the  sire.  No  sales  were  made  at 
this  time.  The  influence  of  this  stud  on  others  will 
be  dealt  with  later. 

Pre-eminence  of  McLean  Co.,  111. — By  1890  Illinois 
had  203  American  breeders  of  Percherons.  Forty- 
four  of  these  were  in  McLean,  20  in  La  Salle,  10  in 
Dupage,  8  in  Tazewell,  8  in  Woodford  and  8  in  De- 
Kalb  counties.  McLean  county  alone  had  more 
breeders  than  any  state  except  the  three  leaders. 

The  leadership  of  the  counties  in  the  north-central 
part  of  Illinois  in  Percheron  breeding,  which  has 
continued  down  to  the  present  day,  warrants  a  con- 
sideration of  the  underlying  factors.  The  counties 
nearer  to  Chicago  have  from  early  days  borne  the 
brand  of  the  dairy  interests.  Farmers  within  50 
miles  were  influenced  in  numerous  ways  to  engage 
in  dairying.  Farms  were  given  up  largely,  or 
wholly,  to  this  industry  and  there  was  no  room  for 
horses,  other  than  those   actually  required.     The 


318  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

dairyman,  accustomed  to  a  pay  check  every  month, 
was  not  favorable  to  an  investment  which  might 
not  return  dividends  for  3  or  4  years.  For  these 
reasons  the  spread  of  Percheron  breeding  in  coun- 
ties near  Chicago  was  slow. 

In  McLean,  La  Salle,  Woodford  and  Tazewell 
counties  other  conditions  prevailed.  Farms  were 
large  and  the  land  well  adapted  to  heavy  machinery 
and  draft  horses.  Beef  cattle  and  hog-raising  were 
the  main  lines  of  live  stock  production.  Farmers 
were  accustomed  to  making  good-sized  investments 
and  waiting  a  year  or  two  for  returns.  They  were, 
on  the  average,  wealthier  than  the  dairy  farmers 
around  Chicago. 

Besides  these  general  factors,  the  human  equa- 
tion had  some  bearing.  The  leading  importers  in 
northern  Illinois,  Mark  W.  Dunham  and  W.  L.  Ell- 
wood,  had  by  unusual  advertising  built  up  a  nation- 
wide business.  Buyers  came  from  all  states.  These 
importers  were  therefore  largely  independent  of 
local  trade.  In  central  Illinois  there  were  a  large 
number  of  small  importers,  who  lacked  the  nation- 
wide advertising  and  showring  prestige  requisite  to 
making  sales  far  from  home.  Their  trade  was  there- 
fore largely  local.  The  result  was  that  more  farmers 
were  induced  to  make  purchases  than  would  have 
been  the  case  had  the  local  field  been  less  thor- 
oughly worked.  The  advantages  of  using  Percher- 
ons  became  so  evident  that  more  farmers  invested 
and  McLean,  La  Salle,  Livingston,  Tazewell,  Iro- 
quois, Woodford,  and  McDonough  counties  rapidly 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  319 

developed  the  leading  Perclieron  breeding  district 
of  the  United  States. 

William  Hurt,  whose  operations  as  a  Percheron 
breeder  began  in  1882,  probably  bred  more  high- 
class  Percherons  than  any  other  breeder  in  McLean 
county.  His  foundation  stock  was  obtained  from 
the  Dillons,  and  he  secured  in  Powerful  6670  (Bay- 
ard 7519)  one  of  the  best  sires  ever  used  in  central 
Illinois.  Powerful  was  foaled  in  1878  and  imported 
in  1882  by  Dillon  Bros.  He  was  a  gray,  about  17 
hands  high  and  weighed  more  than  a  ton — a  mas- 
sive, well-proportioned  draft  horse.  He  was  a 
grandson  of  Favori  1st  (711),  one  of  the  best  and 
largest  horses  of  his  time.  Powerful  was  purchased 
almost  immediately  after  importation  by  Hurt  and 
was  owned  by  him  till  February,  1898,  when  he 
was  sold  conditionally  to  A.  L.  Robison,  Sr.,  who 
used  him  till  his  death  in  1905  at  the  ripe  age  of  27 
years. 

The  colts  sired  by  Powerful  had  size  and  good 
underpinning.  Loiret  8181,  one  of  his  sons  bred  by 
Hurt,  won  first  at  the  Illinois  State  Fair  in  1888. 
Capsheaf  16986  was  another  of  PowerfuPs  sons  of 
showyard  character,  and  he  was  valued  most  highly 
as  a  sire  of  market  horses.  Levetta  P.  10285  and 
Christina  P.  16608  were  two  of  his  daughters  that 
proved  to  be  show  mares  and  remarkable  producers. 
These  were  all  bred  by  William  Hurt,  and  his  sound 
judgment  of  what  constituted  merit  in  a  draft  horse 
made  him  one  of  the  most  influential  breeders  of 
his  time.    He  exhibited  freely,  but  chiefly  at  local 


320  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

shows  in  central  Illinois.  The  winnings  of  Percher- 
ons  bred  by  Mr.  Hurt  influenced  general  Percheron 
operations  most  favorably,  because  the  animals  he 
won  on  were  the  right  kind — drafty,  well-balanced 
and  far  better  than  the  average  in  feet  and  legs. 
They  were  the  durable,  long-lived  Percherons  that 
continued  sound  to  death  and  their  descendants  have 
done  well  wherever  owned. 

Mr.  Hurt  took  his  sons  into  business  with  him 
after  1890.  The  sale  of  stock  to  other  studs  will 
be  dealt  with  in  considering  the  later  work  of  the 
firm. 

Ed.  Hodgson  of  El  Paso,  Zimri  Hodgson  of  Healey, 
S.  N.  King  of  Bloomington,  five  different  members 
of  the  Stubblefield  family  of  Bloomington,  F.  F. 
Elder  and  W.  M.  Bright  of  Normal,  and  D.  H.  Van- 
dolah  were  other  prominent  breeders  before  1890. 
Vandolah  imported  a  great  many  Percherons  as 
weanlings  and  carried  them  for  a  year  or  two  on 
his  farms.  He  is  commonly  accredited  with  having 
made  more  money  in  the  importing  business  than  any 
other  man  in  the  county.  S.  N.  King  bred  King's 
Europe  8258,  foaled  in  1885.  This  horse  was  a  good 
one,  a  prize-winner  and  a  sire  of  merit,  but  his 
colts,  like  many  of  those  of  the  Extrador  4525  (386) 
breeding,  were  rather  hard  feeders.  Mr.  King  also 
used  Bendago  11807,  owned  by  Mr.  Hanna,  and  Dave 
P.  14366,  a  son  of  Powerful  bred  by  Mr.  Hurt,  in 
his  stud.     He  bred  some  excellent  horses. 

A  well-informed  horseman  has  declared  that  Zimri 
Hodgson  bred  better  horses  than  any  other  member 


M^!?/  Hurt      "]  X  ^    C.W.fiurt 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  321 

of  that  family.  He  influenced  Perclieron  breeding 
very  favorably,  for  his  horses  were  of  real  merit. 

G.  W.  Stubblefield  was  the  leading  importer  among 
the  men  of  that  name  in  McLean  county,  and  many 
of  the  studs  in  central  Illinois  were  founded  on  pur- 
chases made  from  him.  His  early  operations  as  an 
importer  have  already  been  discussed.  His  breeding 
operations  were  incidental,  for  he  was  primarily  an 
importer  and  dealer.  Eight  stallions  and  10  mares 
are  on  record  as  bred  by  him  from  1881  to  1890.  He 
had  but  5  or  6  mares,  of  which  Queen  of  the  West 
598  proved  the  most  valuable.  Henry  Abrahams  224 
was  one  of  his  best  sires — an  extremely  prepotent 
horse  that  influenced  the  grade  stock  of  McLean 
county  quite  strongly.  St.  Hilaire  3911  (2965),  an- 
other good  stock  horse,  left  more  purebred  descen- 
dants ;  he  was  a  well-balanced,  massive  horse  weigh- 
ing about  a  ton,  and  left  some  very  good  stock. 

In  Tazewell. — In  Tazewell  Co.,  111.,  Perclieron 
breeding  was  started  by  the  importations  made  by 
J.  W.  Eichmond.  These  horses  went  to  William  R. 
Baldwin  and  others  about  Delavan,  111.  Baldwin  also 
bought  some  horses  from  Mr.  Ellwood,  among  them 
Jambe  d 'Argent  5796  (8233),  a  black  horse  of  Favori 
1st  (711)  breeding.  This  horse  proved  to  be  extra 
good  and  did  much  good  in  Tazewell  county.  Eomeo 
12725,  later  used  at  the  head  of  Wm.  Hurt  &  Sons' 
stud,  was  bred  by  Baldwin  and  was  by  this  sire. 

D.  H.  &  F.  S.  Allen  started  in  1888  and  have  never 
been  out  of  Perclieron  breeding.  R.  A.  Brawner, 
an  uncle  of  the  Aliens,  was  in  on  their  first  importa- 


322  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

tion,  and  bred  a  few  during  the  following  20  years. 
In  La  Salle.— In  La  Salle  Co.,  111.,  M.  C.  Hodgson 
and  W.  E.  Pricliard,  the  leaders,  have  already  been 
discussed.  Eichard  Wolf  began  in  1882  and  bred 
some  good  Percherons,  though  his  operations  were 
limited.  R.  Nagle  &  Sons,  Grand  Ridge,  111.,  in  1883 
bought  some  of  the  best  mares  Mark  W.  Dunham 
imported  and  secured  Confident  3647  (397),  the  son 
of  Brilliant  1271.  Mr.  Nagle  later  bought  some  of 
Mr.  Ellwood's  best  mares.  Confident  was  a  show 
horse  in  every  sense  of  the  word  and  a  sire  of  the 
top  rank.  Had  the  members  of  this  firm  developed 
the  colts  and  advertised  the  stock  they  would  have 
been  among  the  leading  American  breeders;  they 
were  poor  feeders  and  bad  caretakers,  however,  and 
the  colts  were  stunted  in  growth  and  the  stock  was 
never  in  fit  shape  for  show  or  sale.  The  real  worth 
of  the  blood  manifested  itself  whenever  animals 
bred  by  Nagle  &  Sons  were  given  a  fair  chance,  and 
every  man  who  has  been  interviewed  who  bought 
stock  of  this  breeding  declared  that  the  animals 
grew  out  and  developed  into  marvelously  good  draft 
horses;  but  the  profit  went  to  the  purchaser  instead 
of  to  the  breeder,  as  the  animals  were  so  rough  and 
stunted  while  in  the  hands  of  the  breeders  that  no 
one  could  be  persuaded  to  pay  a  decent  price  for 
them.  It  is  most  unfortunate  that  conditions  devel- 
oped as  they  did ;  but  R.  Nagle  was  old  and  within  a 
few  years  after  starting  could  not  give  the  horses  the 
attention  they  deserved.  The  sons  could  not  be 
made  to  realize  the  need  of  developing  the  colts. 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  323 

The  net  consequence  was  that  a  stud  founded  on  good 
horses  of  good  breeding  exerted  less  than  one-tenth 
the  influence  it  should  have  had  in  upbuilding  draft 
horse  breeding,  and  all  for  the  lack  of  proper  feed 
and  care. 

Other  Minnesota  Breeders. — Besides  the  leading 
breeders  in  Minnesota,  whose  work  has  already  been 
discussed,  there  were  a  number  of  less  prominent 
men  who  bred  and  distributed  much  valuable  stock. 
The  most  important  of  these  were  J.  E.  Wilson, 
James  M.  Dunn,  William  Mies  &  Sons,  and  T.  L.  & 
J.  L.  DeLancey. 

J.  E.  Wilson  was  the  founder  of  Wilson  Bros.,  well- 
known  clothing  manufacturers  of  Chicago.  He  had 
about  16,000  acres  of  land  around  Lake  Wilson,  Minn. 
He  was  engaged  in  general  farming  and  stock-rais- 
ing and  became  interested  in  Percherons  about  1886. 
His  foundation  stock  consisted  of  mares  bought  from 
Dunham  and  Ellwood.  Kleber  7063  (10270),  a  son 
of  the  noted  Gerome  3655  (436),  was  the  most  im- 
portant early  sire  used.  A  little  later  Mr.  Wilson 
obtained  some  mares  from  Mark  M.  Co  ad,  either 
directly  or  through  Mr.  Ellwood.  His  real  interest 
in  the  breed  and  his  appreciation  of  the  value  of 
good  sires  are  shown  by  the  fact  that  he  shipped 
a  number  of  mares  to  Oaklawn  to  be  bred  to  Bril- 
liant 1271  at  a  time  when  the  service  fee  for  that 
sire  was  $200.  Five  colts  were  obtained,  all  foaled 
in  1888. 

Mr.  Wilson's  plans  were  broken  by  his  death 
early  in  the   '90 's.     The  widow  carried  the  stock 


324  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

along  for  a  time  until  prices  improved,  but  disposed 
of  it  all  by  1900.  Some  of  the  animals  were  sold  in 
Montana. 

William  Mies  &  Sons  began  by  purchasing  Bap- 
tiste  3064  (41)  from  Leonard  Johnson  in  1886.  This 
was  an  extraordinarily  good  horse,  fully  described 
in  our  discussion  of  Leonard  Johnson's  work.  The 
Mieses  had  no  Percheron  mares  at  this  time,  but 
imported  some  in  1887  and  1888,  and  bred  very  good 
ones.  The  firm  later  became  Mies  Bros.  Their  Per- 
cheron breeding  ceased  about  1900.  The  stock  was 
scattered,  but  did  substantial  service  in  a  general 
way. 

James  M.  Dunn  was  a  small  breeder  who  began 
about  1886.  Most  of  his  stock  was  secured  from 
Leonard  Johnson.     He  bred  but  few  animals. 

T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey  made  their  start  in  1874 
by  buying  2  grade  Percheron  stallions  and  several 
mares  in  Kane  Co.,  111.  These  were  all  sired  by  Suc- 
cess 452,  Mark  W.  Dunham's  first  sire,  and  had  the 
smooth  finish  and  symmetry  which  marked  all  his 
colts.  The  stallions  were  sold  at  good  prices.  The 
mares  were  kept  and  bred  to  Leonard  Johnson 's  im- 
ported stallions.  The  stallions  resulting  were  sold 
profitably  as  grade  Percherons,  and  the  mares  were 
kept  for  breeding  purposes.  In  1878  the  firm  pur- 
chased an  imported  stallion  from  Leonard  Johnson, 
and  subsequently  began  dealing  in  stallions  to  some 
extent.  When  Mr.  Ellwood  started  the  DeLanceys 
began  making  some  purchases  from  him  and  con- 
tinued purchasing  sale  stock  from  both  Ellwood  and 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  325 

Johnson  until  importations  were  made  direct  by  the 
firm  in  1888.  Their  Percheron  breeding  began  with 
the  purchase  of  a  carload  of  mares  from  Ellwood 
in  1885.  Superieur  5752  (2188)  was  the  first  sire  used 
and  the  first  Percheron  bred  by  this  firm  was  foaled 
in  1887.  Six  colts  were  bred  by  1890;  while  many 
mares  were  purchased  or  imported,  most  of  them 
were  soon  sold.  The  DeLanceys  exhibited  freely  at 
the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in  the  '80 's  with  marked 
success,  but  as  their  chief  work  came  after  1890 
details  will  be  given  later. 

Other  Breeders  in  Wisconsin. — While  Messrs. 
Pabst  and  Kellogg',  whose  work  has  already  been 
dealt  with,  were  the  chief  Badger  State  breeders, 
there  were  others  whose  Percheron  breeding  was 
important.  Among  these  were  H.  A.  Babcock  of 
Neenah,  H.  A.  Briggs  of  Delavan  and  Elkhorn,  N.  W. 
Morley  of  Baraboo,  Peter  Truax  of  Eau  Claire  and 
J.  M.  White  of  Rolling  Prairie. 

H.  A.  Babcock  was  a  wealthy  lumberman  with 
extensive  land  interests  near  Neenah,  Wis.  He  was 
a  man  of  more  than  average  ability,  and  before 
engaging  in  Percheron  breeding  had  an  extensive 
experience  in  purchasing  horses  for  use  in  lumber 
camps.  His  keen  observation  of  the  essential  points 
of  a  draft  horse,  gained  through  years  of  purchase 
and  ownership  of  heavy  draft  teams  engaged  in  such 
heavy  hauling,  made  him  an  unusually  discriminat- 
ing judge.  His  first  Percheron  purchases  from  M. 
W.  Dunham  were  marked  by  the  men  connected  with 
Oaklawn  because  of  the  excellence  of  the  animals 


326  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

bought.  He  began  in  1880,  but  did  not  breed  many 
until  after  1884.  All  told  13  stallions  and  15  mares 
were  bred  and  raised  by  him  in  1890.  One  of  the 
best  early  sires  used  by  Mr.  Babcock  was  Canadien 
7033  (6653),  a  gray  son  of  the  noted  Voltaire  3540 
(443).  He  was  a  medium-sized  horse,  standing  about 
16.2  hands  high  and  weighing  about  1,900  pounds 
when  in  good  flesh.  He  was  compact  and  well-pro- 
portioned and  a  very  good  sire.  Sansonnet  was 
used  still  earlier  and  sired  the  phenomenal  show  and 
brood  mare  Linda  12986.  This  mare,  bred  by  Mr. 
Babcock,  made  most  of  her  record  in  the  hands  of 
Oaklawn  Farm,  and  her  history  has  already  been 
given.  The  greatest  sire  ever  used  was  Villers 
13169  (8081),  of  which  more  anon.  Relatively  few 
animals  were  sold  by  Mr.  Babcock  before  1890. 
Further  discussion  of  his  work  will  come  later. 

H.  A.  Briggs,  who  bred  and  raised  17  Percherons 
on  Prairie  View  Farm  by  1890,  began  breeding 
about  1886.  He  bought  some  mares  from  R.  B. 
Kellogg,  and  made  an  importation  himself  in  1887. 
His  farm  consisted  of  420  acres  between  Elkhorn 
and  Delavan — a  very  good  farm  of  dark  prairie 
loam.  Mr.  Briggs  worked  his  mares  as  much  as  the 
amount  of  work  to  be  done  would  permit,  and  states 
that  the  mares  which  had  a  moderate  amount  of 
work  gave  him  better  results  than  the  idle  mares 
did.  The  largest  number  of  producing  mares  kept 
at  any  one  time  was  25.  A  smaller  number  was 
usually  owned.  The  first  and  best  sire  used  was 
Louis  6337   (2430),  a  black  with  a  star.     He  was 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  327 

about  17  hands  high  and  weighed  2,150  pounds  in 
show  condition.  He  was  fairly  well-proportioned 
and  very  good  in  action.  He  won  first  as  an  aged 
stallion  at  the  Wisconsin  State  Fair  in  1892,  and 
was  also  first  in  the  class  for  get-of-sire.  He  won 
second  in  the  same  classes  at  the  Minnesota  State 
Fair  the  same  year.  His  colts  were  large  and  of 
rugged  draft  type. 

N.  W.  Morley,  Baraboo,  Wis.,  began  in  1886  by 
purchasing  some  Percherons  from  M.  W.  Dunham. 
By  1890  he  had  bred  and  raised  5  stallions  and  8 
mares,  and  his  operations,  while  not  extensive,  were 
with  good  stock.  Ravenstein  1301,  sired  by  Bril- 
liant 1899  out  of  a  half-sister  to  his  own  (Bril- 
liant's) dam,  was  the  first  sire  used.  He  left  some 
good  colts  and  the  best  one  Morley  ever  raised,  Sadi 
8233,  a  stallion,  was  sired  by  Ravenstein  out  of 
Florentine  969  (875).  Bon  Coeur  3479  (367)  was  an^ 
other  good  sire  used  to  some  extent  at  an  early  date. 
He  was  a  line-bred  Brilliant,  sired  by  Brilliant  1271 
out  of  a  daughter  of  Brilliant  1899.  His  colts  were 
uniform  and  a  good  kind. 

Other  Michig"an  Breeders. — Mr.  Palmer's  work, 
already  reviewed,  was  supplemented  by  the  work  of 
27  other  Michigan  breeders.  Among  the  most  prom- 
inent were  Savage  &  Farnum  of  Grosse  Isle,  Jacob 
P.  Sleight  of  Bath,  and  E.  Woodman  of  Paw  Paw. 

Savage  &  Farnum  were  advertising  agents,  en- 
gaged in  placing  advertising  in  leading  papers 
throughout  the  country.  They  had  a  farm  on  an 
island  in  the  river  below  Detroit  and  here  they 


328  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

established  Grosse  Isle  Stock  Farm.  Their  founda- 
tion stock  was  obtained  from  M.  W.  Dunham  and 
John  W.  Akin,  and  they  subsequently  made  some 
scattering  purchases  and  still  later  bought  a  num- 
ber from  Thomas  W.  Palmer.  The  Percheron  breed- 
ing operations  of  this  firm  began  in  1884.  By  1890 
they  bred  and  raised  23  stallions  and  19  mares.  The 
most  noted  stallion  they  owned  at  this  time  was 
Eomulus  873,  imported  in  1879  by  Mark  W.  Dunham 
and  sold  that  year  to  H.  Walker  &  Son  of  Detroit. 
Romulus  was  a  gray,  foaled  in  1873,  and  had  the 
distinction  of  having  won  first  in  the  aged  stallion 
class  at  the  Universal  Exposition  at  Paris  in  1878. 
He  was  about  16.1  hands  high  and  weighed  about 
1,700  pounds  in  breeding  condition,  but  was  an  extra- 
ordinary show  horse  in  every  way — beautifully  bal- 
anced, with  superb  style,  finish  and  action.  He  was 
an  extremely  prepotent  sire  and  some  of  the  best 
horses  imported  in  the  early  '80  's  were  by  him.  He 
sired  but  ten  purebred  colts  in  America,  which  were 
bred  by  Dunham  (1)  and  Hiram  Walker  &  Son  (9). 
Too  much  showyard  fitting  apparently  interfered 
with  his  usefulness,  for  he  got  no  purebred  colts  for 
Savage  &  Farnum. 

An  item  of  interest  in  connection  with  the  opera- 
tions of  Savage  &  Farnum  is  the  fact  that  among 
their  importations  was  the  stallion  Sebastopol  5272 
(7043),  later  famous  as  the  sire  of  Armour's  Big 
Jim,  four  times  champion  gelding  over  all  breeds  at 
the  International  Live  Stock  Exposition.  J.  H.  S. 
Johnstone,  whose  persistent  efforts  traced  Big  Jim 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  329 

to  his  source,  found  that  he  was  bred  by  D.  C. 
Graham,  Cameron,  111.  Sebastopol  was  an  aged  horse 
when  he  sired  the  world-renowned  champion,  but 
this  performance  was  no  fluke,  as  he  sired  many 
high-class  geldings  that  sold  at  good  prices.  It 
seems  unfortunate  that  a  horse  with  such  a  record 
as  a  gelding-getter  should  not  have  been  used  on 
purebred  mares,  but  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained  he 
left  but  one  purebred  colt,  the  Percheron  mare  Sebas- 
tin  17105,  foaled  in  1892,  and  she  left  but  few  colts. 
The  old  horse  was  owned  by  B.  F.  Tinkham,  Cam- 
eron, 111.,  at  the  time  he  sired  Big  Jim. 

Savage  &  Farnum  exhibited  quite  freely  at  the 
Michigan  and  Ohio  State  Fairs  and  with  fair  suc- 
cess. This  combined  with  the  general  advertising 
done  by  the  firm,  assisted  materially  in  popularizing 
the  breed  in  their  territory. 

Jacob  P.  Sleight,  Bath,  Mich.,  began  Percheron 
breeding  in  1882.  His  first  purchases  were  made 
from  M.  W.  Dunham,  T.  Hall  and  H.  Walker  &  Sons. 
He  bred  a  few  good  colts.  Abydos  960  (869),  bought 
from  Oaklawn  Farm,  was  his  best  producer. 

Parsons  &  Baldwin,  Watervliet,  Mich.,  began  in 
1884,  and  bred  9  Percherons  by  1890.  They  began 
with  the  purchase  of  Floreda  1490  (1433)  and  her 
daughter  Flora  2964,  sired  by  Brilliant  1271.  These 
were  secured  from  M.  W.  Dunham.  Flora  was  bred 
to  Confident,  owned  by  Nagle  &  Sons,  in  1886,  and 
to  this  service  she  foaled  Nancy  10089,  one  of  the 
three  best  mares  owned  by  the  firm  during  this 
epoch.    Floreda  was  undoubtedly  the  greatest  brood 


330  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

mare  the  firm  ever  owned;  all  of  her  colts,  even 
from  different  sires,  were  good.  Further  discussion 
of  the  work  of  this  firm  will  come  later. 

E.  Woodman,  Paw  Paw,  Mich.,  did  not  begin  until 
1888  and  was  but  fairly  started  at  the  end  of  this 
epoch.  He  raised  9  of  his  own  breeding  in  1889  and 
1890.  His  foundation  stock  was  drawn  from  the 
Dunhams.  Most  of  his  work  falls  in  the  next  epoch 
and  will  be  taken  up  later. 

Other  Breeders  in  New  York. — Considering  later 
history  it  seems  extraordinary  that  New  York  state 
stood  fourth  in  number  of  breeders  during  this 
epoch,  but  such  is  the  case.  Of  the  31  breeders  in 
the  state,  the  leader,  John  W.  Akin,  has  already  been 
considered.  A.  P.  Wright  of  Buffalo,  E.  H.  Geiger 
of  Danville,  Frank  B.  Redfield  of  Batavia  and  B.  B. 
Lord  &  Son  of  Sinclairville  were  others  whose  work 
helped  greatly  to  popularize  the  breed  in  the  Em- 
pire State  and  there  were  many  others  who  aided 
materially  in  the  work.  Reference  must  be  made 
also  to  B.  T.  Babbit,  who  was  one  of  the  first,  if  not 
the  first,  to  breed  purebred  Percherons  in  the  state 
of  New  York. 

A.  P.  Wright  began  in  1884  with  a  few  mares  and 
the  stallion  Jucher  3512  (2142),  all  bought  from  M. 
W.  Dunham.  His  horses  were  well  bred,  but  his 
operations  were  limited  and  terminated  before  much 
had  been  accomplished.  E.  H.  Geiger  also  obtained 
his  foundation  stock  from  Oaklawn  Farm,  but  his 
operations  were  too  limited  to  be  of  much  conse- 
quence.    F.  B.  Eedfield  was  engaged  in  breeding 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  331 

purebred  stock  of  several  kinds,  and  made  his  start 
in  Percherons  about  1886,  with  some  purchases  from 
Mr.  Dunham.  His  chief  sire  was  the  American-bred 
Belidor  9520,  by  Brilliant  1271,  an  extra  good  colt 
which  we  have  already  mentioned.  Redfield  bred 
some  good  colts,  but  did  not  survive  the  depression 
of  the  '90 's,  closing  out  about  1892. 

B.  T.  Babbitt,  of  New  York  City,  millionaire  soap 
and  saleratus  manufacturer,  bought  7  mares  and  9 
stallions  from  Mark  W.  Dunham  in  1874.  He  was 
an  enthusiastic  horseman,  but  knew  little  about 
breeding  Percherons  and  no  special  good  came  from 
his  investment  except  in  an  advertising  way,  al- 
though some  of  the  animals  did  some  good  in  regions 
where  they  were  subsequently  sold. 

For  some  reason  few  of  the  Percherons  owned  in 
New  York  state  during  this  period  have  continued 
their  impression  down  to  the  present  day.  Most  of 
the  animals  were  scattered  and  passed  into  the  hands 
of  men  who  permitted  their  registration  to  go  by 
default,  and  their  blood  has  gradually  been  swal- 
lowed up  in  the  common  stock  of  the  state. 

Percheron  Breeding*  in  Pennsylvania. — Pennsyl- 
vania had  23  breeders  by  1890,  but  Powell  Bros,  were 
the  only  ones  whose  operations  were  at  all  exten- 
sive. They  began  breeding  in  1884  and  by  1890  had 
bred  and  raised  16  stallions  and  18  mares.  They  were 
importers  of  and  dealers  in  many  kinds  of  purebred 
live  stock,  including  practically  all  breeds  of  draft 
horses.  J.  T.  Vance  of  Washington,  J.  P.  Scott  of 
Remington,  and  F.  M.  Finley  of  Finleyville  were 


332  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

others  whose  Percheron  studs  were  but  fairly  started 
by  the  close  of  this  epoch,  and  their  operations  will 
be  dealt  with  later. 

Shadeland,  the  Powell  Bros.'  stock-farm,  made 
its  start  in  Percherons  when  some  stallions  and 
mares  were  imported  in  1884.  Additional  mares 
were  brought  over  in  following  years,  and  a  good- 
sized  band  of  brood  mares  was  owned  from  that  time 
on.  Cresus  5435  (2513)  was  the  most  important 
early  sire  used.  He  was  a  gray  of  good  type,  a  son 
of  Selim  (749).  ISToireau  5463  (1675),  a  gray  son  of 
Narbonne  1334  (777)  by  Brilliant  1899,  was  the  next 
most  important  sire  used.  He  was  imported  at  the 
same  time  Cresus  was  in  1884,  but  was  not  given  any 
opportunity  on  the  purebred  mares  until  1888  and 
later.  He  left  some  good  stock.  The  broad  basis  of 
operations  maintained  by  Powell  Bros,  made  them 
distributors  of  a  great  many  Percherons  in  the  east- 
ern states,  but  their  influence  on  Percheron  atfairs 
was  lessened  by  reason  of  the  fact  that  they  were 
dealers  in  all  breeds  and  necessarily  did  not  give 
Percherons  as  strong  support  as  would  otherwise 
have  been  the  case.  Their  work  was  of  far-reaching 
consequence,  however,  and  many  of  the  Percherons 
now  in  the  eastern  states  trace  to  Shadeland  Stock 
Farm. 

The  Little  Missouri  Horse  Co.,  of  Meadville,  Pa., 
was  another  company  whose  operations  were  far- 
reaching  in  popularizing  Percheron  sires  for  breed- 
ing up  common  grade  stock.  The  stud  was  barely 
started  at  this  time,  however,  and  the  story  of  this 


CM.  North    iX^       d.H.bee 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF   THE   PERIOD  333 

ranch  is  so  fascinating  in  interest  that  it  will  be  dealt 
with  in  full  at  a  later  period. 

Progress  in  Indiana. — Indiana  had  no  outstanding 
leaders  and  the  development  of  Percheron  affairs  in 
that  state  was  slow.  S.  Crumpacker  and  K.  F.  Small 
of  Westville  and  H.  Hulman  of  Terre  Haute  were  the 
only  ones  who  bred  more  than  10  Percherons  each 
during  the  time  considered.  Mr.  Crumpacker  was 
engaged  in  importing  and  raised  some  Percherons  as 
early  as  1880.  His  operations  were  incidental  to  his 
work  as  an  importer  in  the  firm  of  Crumpacker  & 
Winters.  Mr.  Small  obtained  his  foundation  stock 
from  this  firm.  Orphan  Boy  1857,  imported  in  1882, 
was  his  first  important  sire,  and  he  later  used  a  good 
horse  called  Grandee  686  (743).  Grandee  was  a  black 
son  of  the  great  Favori  1st,  and  was  a  good,  big 
horse,  like  most  of  those  of  this  strain.  He  was  16 
years  old  when  he  sired  his  first  foals  for  Mr.  Small, 
but  continued  in  service  until  he  was  21  years  of  age. 
Mr.  Hulman  did  not  begin  until  about  1886  or  1887. 
He  purchased  his  foundation  stock  from  M.  W.  Dun- 
ham. 

In  the  Sunflower  State. — To  the  Yankee  pioneer, 
Henry  Averj,  Wakefield,  Kans.,  goes  the  honor  of 
having  bred  the  first  Percherons  in  Kansas.  He  had 
gone  into  the  west  when  Indians  were  still  plentiful 
and  had  secured  extensive  land  holdings  near  the 
Republican  River,  some  12  or  15  miles  northwest  of 
Fort  Riley  and  a  short  distance  west  of  where  the 
Kansas  Agricultural  College  now  stands.  He  liked 
good  horses,  had  a  genuine  love  for  drafters,  and 


334  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

made  his  start  by  purchasing  some  stock  from  the 
Dillons  in  1877.  In  1880  he  bought  Vidou  953  from 
M.  W.  Dunham.  A  year  later  he  bought  Nyanza  869, 
bred  at  Oaklawn,  and  also  bought  a  mare.  In  sub- 
sequent years  he  made  numerous  purchases  from  Mr. 
Dunham.  Mr.  Avery's  operations  expanded  rapidly 
and  he  found  it  advantageous  to  sell  some  of  the 
stallions  and  mares  he  had  taken  to  Kansas.  As  a 
result  of  increasing  business  he  prevailed  upon  C.  R. 
Coleman,  who  was  at  that  time  working  for  M.  W, 
Dunham,  to  go  to  Kansas  and  buy  one  of  his  farms 
near  Wakefield  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  with 
him  in  breeding  and  dealing  in  Percherons.  The 
firm  of  Avery  &  Coleman  was  accordingly  formed 
about  1886.  Mr.  Avery  kept  some  Percherons  under 
his  own  management,  however,  so  that  from  1886  on 
he  had  two  establishments,  his  own  and  that  in 
which  he  held  a  partnership  interest.  He  himself 
bred  14  Percherons  between  1881  and  1890,  and  the 
firm  of  Avery  &  Coleman  bred  28,  making  a  total 
of  42  head — two  and  a  half  times  as  many  as  any 
other  person  or  firm  in  the  state.  Nyanza  was  the 
most  important  early  sire  used.  Voltaire  3d  4320 
(2963),  a  good  horse  sired  by  the  noted  show  stallion 
Voltaire  3540  (443),  was  another  used  after  1885; 
he  left  some  very  good  colts.  Waterloo  16th  9287 
(14946),  imported  in  1888,  was  another  extra  good 
one  used  in  the  Avery  stud. 

The  activities  of  Henry  Avery  did  more  for  Per- 
cherons at  this  time  than  those  of  any  other  breeder 
in  Kansas,  and  he  is  entitled  to  much  credit  for  the 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  335 

courage  which  led  him  to  buy  some  excellent  stal- 
lions and  mares  and  for  his  aggressive  championship 
of  the  Percheron  cause  at  a  time  when  the  breed  was 
practically  unknown  to  Kansas  farmers.  Some  of  his 
best  work  came  later,  and  will  be  taken  up  in  due 
course. 

0.  L.  Thisler,  Chapman,  Kans.,  began  in  1884  by 
purchasing  some  stock  from  W.  L.  Ellwood,  with 
whom  he  continued  to  deal  for  a  number  of  years. 
He  was  more  of  a  dealer  than  a  breeder,  however, 
and  bred  but  16  head  up  to  1890. 

William  A.  Pierce  came  nearly  being  the  first  Per- 
cheron breeder  in  Kansas;  he  purchased  in  1880  a 
stallion  and  mare  which  had  been  imported  in  1878 
by  Chas.  W.  Pierce  of  Boston.  The  horses  were 
taken  to  his  farm  at  Maple  Hill,  where  he  continued 
the  business  in  a  modest  way,  without  making  any 
particular  effort  to  expand  his  operations  in  this 
direction. 

There  were  16  Kansas  breeders  other  than  those 
already  discussed,  but  most  of  them  did  not  start 
until  1886  or  1887  and  their  work  was  only  well 
started  at  the  close  of  this  epoch. 

In  Missouri. — Ethan  Allen  Hitchcock  and  William 
B.  Collier  of  St.  Louis,  A.  F.  McKee  of  Browning  and 
D.  Braymer  of  Braymer  were  the  leaders  among  the 
18  breeders  located  in  Missouri  during  this  epoch. 

Mr.  Hitchcock  was  a  wealthy  manufacturer  and 
business  man  of  St.  Louis.  He  was  splendidly  edu- 
cated and  one  of  the  most  cultured  gentlemen  ever 
engaged   in   Percheron   breeding.     He  bought  his 


336  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

foundation  stock  from  Oaklawn  Farm  in  1883  and  the 
following  year  he  and  Mr.  Collier,  who  was  closely 
allied  with  him  in  business  interests,  bought  15  mares 
from  Mark  W.  Dunham  for  $14,500.  They  were, 
needless  to  say,  a  select  band.  Mr.  Hitchcock  also 
purchased  Cesar  3526  (601)  from  Mr.  Dunham  to 
head  the  stud,  paying  $6,000 — a  price  that  was  prob- 
ably the  record  at  the  time.  Cesar  was  of  large 
size  and  a  remarkable  show  horse,  but  hardly  as 
good  a  sire  as  he  was  an  individual.  Monarque  5149 
(2428),  a  son  of  Brilliant  1271,  was  secured  and  used 
a  little  later;  he  was  a  good  one,  standing  about  16.2 
hands  high,  deep-bodied,  thick  and  massive,  and 
much  on  the  type  of  his  illustrious  sire;  he  was  an 
exceptionally  valuable  stud  horse,  both  in  France  and 
America;  one  of  his  imported  sons,  Baccarat  11326 
(18639),  subsequently  made  the  reputation  of  R.  B. 
Kellogg 's  stud.  Monarque  left  more  and  better  colts 
than  any  other  horse  ever  used  in  Mr.  Hitchcock's 
stud,  but  Cesar  was  used  to  a  greater  extent  in  Mr. 
Collier's  stud.  It  is  extremely  unfortunate  that  the 
pedigrees  of  so  few  of  the  descendants  of  animals 
bred  in  these  studs  have  been  preserved  to  the 
present  day.  Most  of  the  colts  raised  were  stallions 
which  went  out  in  districts  where  grade  mares  pre- 
vailed. Of  the  mares,  the  only  ones  which  have  done 
much  good  were  those  which  were  taken  to  Mr.  Col- 
lier's western  ranch  at  Lakeport,  Cal.,  where  a  con- 
siderable number  were  bred  from  this  stock  by  Mr. 
Collier  and  by  Mrs.  Wm.  B.  Collier.  Some  of  the 
descendants  of  Umi  2236,  one  of  the  foundation  mares 


OTHER  PROMINENT  FIGURES  OF  THE  PERIOD  337 

bought  from  Mr.  Dunham  in  1884,  are  now  in  the 
stud  of  William  Bond,  Newark,  Cal. 

A.  F.  McKee  was  at  one  time  bookkeeper  for  Mark 
W.  Dunham.  When  he  left  to  engage  in  farming  in 
Missouri  he  bought  some  of  the  Oaklawn  mares  and 
also  took  a  few  on  lease.  He  was  not  especially  suc- 
cessful however,  and  his  Percherons  lacked  develop- 
ment. 

D.  Braymer  was  a  stock-farmer  who  bought  a  few 
Percherons  from  Oaklawn  Farm  about  1883.  He 
bred  but  few  animals,  but  was  a  very  good  judge  of 
horses  and  his  selections  were  above  the  average. 
He  obtained  as  one  of  his  sires  Luther  1272  (1384), 
an  extraordinarily  good  stock  horse,  but  unfortun- 
ately chestnut  in  color. 

Other  States. — Of  progress  elsewhere  some  de- 
tails might  be  given,  but  for  the  most  part  opera- 
tions had  only  fairly  begun  in  the  other  states  and 
territorities  at  the  end  of  this  epoch.  They  can 
more  fittingly  be  dealt  with  later, 


CHAPTER  XI. 
AN  ERA  OF  PEOFOUND  DEPEESSION. 

Between  1891  and  1900  the  United  States  passed 
through  a  period  of  hard  times  that  is  without  par- 
allel in  extent  and  duration.  All  industries  were  af- 
fected, thousands  made  bankrupt,  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  driven  to  bitter  extremes  of  poverty. 
Farmers  and  stockmen  were  compelled  to  sell  their 
products  for  less  than  the  cost  of  production. 

Percheron  breeding  suffered  in  common  with 
other  industries.  The  gradual  tightening  of  loans 
had  curtailed  importations  as  early  as  1890  and  few 
horses  were  imported  after  1891.  The  value  of  work 
horses  was  so  reduced  that  incentive  to  breed  bet- 
ter horses  was  largely  lost.  Good  work  animals 
could  be  bought  for  $50  to  $60;  purebred  mares  of 
all  draft  breeds  sometimes  sold  as  low  as  $100  apiece, 
and  stallions  proportionately  low.  Percheron  breed- 
ers with  well-selected  studs  representing  an  average 
cost  of  $500  per  animal  or  more  saw  their  invest- 
ments shrink  to  one-half  or  one-third  of  that  value. 
Many  breeders  held  on  until  forced  to  sell;  others 
with  independent  incomes  grew  weary  of  the  cost 
and  sold  out  at  the  bottom.  Some  men  weathered 
the  storm  by  allowing  the  horses  to  shift  for  them- 
selves on  pasture  or  range  till  the  tide  turned.    A 

338 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  339 

very  few  with  means  and  courage  bred  persistently 
on,  exercising  the  same  careful  selection  of  sires  as 
in  better  days. 

In  this  period  the  registration  of  the  colts  pro- 
duced was  neglected.  The  American  Percheron 
Horse  Breeders'  Association  recorded  but  479  ani- 
mals in  1894,  539  in  1895  and  392  in  1896.  Only 
8,807  American-bred  Percherons  and  1,490  imported 
animals  were  recorded  in  the  entire  decade,  or  about 
as  many  as  were  recorded  in  the  single  fiscal  year  of 
1914.  A  large  proportion  of  those  which  were  re- 
corded were  foaled  or  imported  before  1890.  More 
than  1,000  American-bred  animals  foaled  in  this 
period  were  not  placed  on  the  records  until  many 
years  later. 

The  depression  in  value  of  horses  was  due  to  the 
general  tie-up  in  manufactures  and  in  general  busi- 
ness which  began  developing  about  1890.  This 
culminated  in  the  panic  of  1893,  when  the  loss  of 
confidence  among  money  holders  was  so  great  that 
it  was  virtually  impossible  to  raise  money  on  first 
farm  mortgages  or  approved  bonds.  Building  and 
manufacturing  were  stagnant  and  prices  dropped  to 
abnormally  low  levels. 

The  most  noticeable  direct  effect  of  all  this 
was  a  widespread  distribution  of  Percheron  mares. 
Wealthy  owners,  lacking  knowledge  of  and  confi- 
dence in  the  business,  sold  out  for  whatever  price 
could  be  obtained.  Others,  forced  to  sell  something 
to  raise  funds  on  which  to  live,  sold  all  or  part  of 
their  Percherons.    Prices  were  so  low  that  hundreds 


340  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

of  farmers  bought  good,  big  mares  at  from  $300  to 
$400  per  pair,  or  less,  considering  tlie  investment 
a  good  one  when  the  work  value  alone  was  reckoned. 
Stallion  owners  and  dealers  were  pressed  into  service 
to  help  sell  mares  on  long-time  notes  to  help  relieve 
men  whose  bands  of  mares  constituted  a  heav}^  ex- 
pense for  feed  and  care.  J.  L.  DeLancey,  J.  M. 
Fletcher  and  other  well-informed  horsemen  who 
went  through  the  panic  agree  in  declaring  that  the 
best  of  Percheron  mares  were  actually  bought  by 
farmers  as  low  as  $300  each — and  this  for  the  very 
best  stock.  Such  expansion  of  breeding  as  did  occur 
between  1892  and  1897  was  due  almost  wholly  to 
sacrifice  of  valuable  Percherons  by  men  who  either 
had  to  sell  or  who  became  panic-stricken.  From 
1897  on  there  was  some  improvement  in  prices  and  a 
gradual  awakening  of  interest.  It  was  slight,  how- 
ever, as  is  abundantly  attested  by  the  lack  of  interest 
in  the  breeding  classes  at  the  first  International  Live 
Stock  Exposition  in  1900. 

What  the  Figures  Show. — In  1890  there  were  593 
breeders  of  Percherons  in  the  United  States ;  by  1900 
the  number  had  increased  to  1,634.  Illinois  came 
first  with  547  breeders;  Iowa  second  with  204;  Ohio 
third  with  146;  Minnesota  fourth  with  124;  Wiscon- 
sin fifth  with  83;  Kansas  sixth  with  72;  Indiana 
seventh  with  64 ;  Michigan  eighth  with  53 ;  Nebraska 
ninth  with  48,  and  South  Dakota  tenth  with  47.  The 
remaining  246  breeders  were  scattered  through  24 
states  and  territories,  so  that  more  than  four-fifths 
of  all  the  Percheron  breeders  in  the  United  States 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROPOUND  DEPRESSION         341 

were  located  in  the  territory  of  the  Mississippi  and 
Missouri  valleys.  Nearly  half  of  them  were  in  the 
states  of  Illinois  and  Iowa,  which  explains  why  these 
two  states  now  contribute  42  percent  of  all  Perche- 
rons  bred  in  America. 

One  hundred  and  fifty-nine  mares  were  imported 
and  114  bred  in  America  between  1871  and  1880; 
2,566  were  imported  and  2,089  bred  in  America  be- 
tween 1881  and  1890.  Roughly  speaking,  there  were 
approximately  5,000  Percheron  mares  available  in 
1891,  yet  in  the  decade  w^e  are  considering  only  4,897 
stallions  and  4,990  mares,  eventually  recorded,  were 
foaled,  and  more  than  1,000  of  these  were  not  re- 
corded until  long  after  the  close  of  the  decade.  The 
total  number  of  recorded  American-bred  Percherons 
produced  in  the  10  years  was  but  9,887,  or  an  average 
of  less  than  two  colts  per  mare  in  10  years  for  the 
Percheron  mares  owned  by  breeders  in  1891.  In 
view  of  the  fact  that  mares  in  farmers'  hands  will 
normally  average  two  colts  every  three  years  it  is 
evident  that  there  was  enormous  waste  of  Percheron 
resources  during  this  period.  The  mares  averaged 
but  one  colt  each  five  years.  What  actually  occurred 
was  refusal  or  neglect  of  farmers  and  breeders  to 
breed  their  mares,  and  the  castration  of  purebred 
stallion  colts.  Besides,  hundreds  of  mares  were  sold 
without  registration,  for  work  purposes  only,  and  all 
traces  of  them  were  subsequently  lost. 

Incalculable  damage  to  constructive  breeding  of 
Percherons  resulted  from  the  stagnation.  Carefully 
selected  brood  mares,  which  had  been  well  cared  for 


342  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

and  mated  to  stallions  whose  individuality  and 
breeding  were  such  as  to  warrant  confidence  in  good 
results,  passed  into  the  hands  of  men  who  were  in- 
competent judges  either  of  individual  horses  or  of 
bloodlines.  A  large  proportion  of  the  new  owners 
were  poor  caretakers  and  without  knowledge  re- 
garding the  feeding  and  development  of  purebred 
horses.  Their  ignorance  damaged  the  breed.  Good 
Percheron  mares  were  mated  to  stallions  that  were 
unfit  to  be  used.  Bad  breeding  was  followed  by 
worse  feeding.  Feed  was  low  in  price,  but  money 
was  hard  to  get,  and  the  feed  given  to  horses  was 
looked  upon  as  largely  lost.  The  result  was  that 
most  Percherons  had  to  survive  on  pasture,  straw, 
some  hay  and  a  very  little  grain.  The  best  live  stock 
in  the  world  will  be  dwarfed  and  injured  in  confor- 
mation under  such  conditions.* 

That  Percherons  did  survive  and  steadily  increase 
in  popularity  speaks  volumes  for  the  hardiness, 
adaptability  and  easy-keeping  qualities  of  the 
breed.  The  injury  done  to  intelligent  breeding  opera- 
tions had  some  compensations:  it  placed  Percherons 
in  the  hands  of  hundreds  of  farmers  who  bought 
them  at  low  prices  and  became  cognizant  of  their 
many  sterling  qualities  by  actual  experience  under 
adverse  conditions. 

Oaklawn  Farm. — Under  Mr.  Dunham's  capable 
management  Oaklawn  Farm  continued  its  leadership 


♦For  conclusive  resuUs  regarding-  injury  to  conformation  of 
animals  through  starvation  or  semi-starvation  rations,  see  pub- 
lished reports  of  work  done  by  Dr.  H.  J.  Waters  at  the  Missouri 
and  Kansas  Experiment  Stations. 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         343 

in  Percheron  affairs  throughout  the  hard  times. 
Some  importations  were  made  each  year  up  to  1893, 
and  while  many  mares  were  sold,  the  number  kept 
at  Oaklawn  was  considerable.  Approximately  200 
mares  were  owned  and  kept  at  Oaklawn  or  were  out 
on  lease  during  '91  and  '92.  A  good  many  were 
sold  in  '92  and  '93,  so  that  the  mares  on  hand  on 
July  1,  1893,  totaled  but  115  head.  On  July  1,  1897, 
there  were  133  and  on  May  21,  1901,  89  head.  The 
number  of  colts  bred,  raised  and  subsequently  record- 
ed was  as  follows,  by  years:  1891,  30  stallions  and 
23  mares;  1892,  32  stallions  and  29  mares;  1893,  21 
stallions  and  25  mares;  1894,  10  stallions  and  16 
mares;  1895,  13  stallions  and  12  mares;  1896,  21  stal- 
lions and  15  mares;  1897,  23  stallions  and  19  mares; 
1898,  26  stallions  and  35  mares;  1899,  15  stallions 
and  14  mares;  1900,  25  stallions  and  7  mares — a  total 
of  216  stallions  and  204  mares  for  the  decade.  It  is 
interesting  to  note  that  although  in  some  particular 
years  one  sex  greatly  outnumbered  the  other,  the 
total  for  the  10  years  is  nearly  the  same  for  each  sex. 

The  chief  sires  used  at  Oaklawn  in  this  period 
were  as  follows:  Brilliant  1271  (755),  in  1891  and 
1892  (he  died  early  in  1893);  Marathon  11410 
(10386),  for  the  season  of  1890  only;  Brilliant  3d 
11116  (2919),  in  1891  and  1892;  Aiglon  13145 
(8187),  in  the  years  from  1892  to  1896;  Introuvable 
16875  (24146)  from  1893  to  1896;  and  Villers  13169 
(8081)  from  April  19,  1897,  to  March  15,  1900. 

Brilliant  3d.— Next  to  Brilliant  1271,  Brilliant  3d 
was  the  greatest  of  this  group  of  great  sires.    He 


344  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON    HORSE 

was  foaled  in  1884  and  won  the  highest  honors  at 
the  annual  show  held  by  the  Societe  Hippique  Per- 
cheronne  de  France  in  1888.  He  was  bought  for 
Oaklawn  early  in  1889  by  James  M.  Fletcher,  who 
did  all  of  Mr.  Dunham's  buying  in  France  from 
1887  on.  At  the  time  of  his  purchase,  he  was  con- 
sidered the  greatest  Percheron  in  France,  individual- 
ly and  as  a  sire,  and  the  showyard  records  of  win- 
nings during  the  past  20  years  confirm  the  estimate 
which  Mr.  Fletcher  and  the  leading  French  breeders 
placed  on  him.  More  prize-winners  trace  to  Brilliant 
3d  than  to  any  other  horse  used  in  France  or  Amer- 
ica since  1886.  Individually  Brilliant  3d  was 
medium-sized,  standing  about  16.3  hands  and  weigh- 
ing a  little  over  a  ton  in  show  condition.  He  was 
well-balanced,  massive  in  build,  with  heavy  bone  of 
the  best  quality,  and  was  excellent  in  action.  In 
all-around  individual  excellence  he  stands  among 
the  greatest  of  the  breed.  He  made  three  seasons  in 
France,  1886,  '87  and  '88,  and  probably  sired  a  few 
foals  in  1889  before  being  imported.  His  colts  were 
noted  for  their  unusually  high-class  type,  and  it  is 
believed  that  no  sire  used  in  the  Percheron  breed 
ever  begot  so  large  a  proportion  of  valuable  colts 
and  so  few  inferior  ones. 

Plans  had  been  made  at  Oaklawn  to  show  Brilliant 
3d  in  1889  at  the  Chicago  Horse  Show,  and  Mr.  Dun- 
ham intended  to  drive  home  at  this  show  the  value 
of  Brilliant  blood  by  showing  four  generations — 
Brilliant  1271,  Fenelon,  Brilliant  3d  and  19  yearling 
sons  of  Brilliant  3d  imported  at  the  same  time.    An 


g^-^-T^-iii'iW '^ 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  345 

unfortunate  experiment  resulted  in  an  extremely 
acute  founder  which  nearly  resulted  in  the  death  of 
Brilliant  3d  and  he  was  ruined  for  use  in  the  show- 
yard.*  He  gradually  recovered,  although  he  was  un- 
fit for  stud  use  for  two  years.  Some  colts  were  sired 
by  him  in  1891  and  1892,  15  in  all,  at  Oaklawn,  but 
he  was  so  badly  crippled  that  Mr.  Dunham  desired 
to  be  rid  of  him.  He  was  accordingly  sold  on  Dec. 
20,  1892,  to  Avery  &  Coleman,  Wakefield,  Kans., 
where  he  was  used  for  three  years  and  then  dropped 
from  sight. 

In  spite  of  his  foundered  condition,  the  colts  sired 
by  Brilliant  3d  were  good,  both  at  Oaklawn  and  in 
Kansas.  All  of  those  sired  at  Oaklawn  were  blacks 
or  grays,  but  more  than  half  of  those  sired  in  Kansas 
were  off-colors — bays,  browns  and  sorrels.  The  off- 
colors  were  clearly  due  to  the  dams,  however,  as  10 
out  of  the  11  off-colored  colts  were  out  of  top-cross 
mares,  bred  up  and  recorded  by  Mr.  Avery  from 
some  grade  mares  he  bought  of  the  Dillons  in  1878, 
The  sorrel  and  bay  colors  were  so  strongly  fixed  in 
these  dams  that  not  even  Brilliant  3d's  remarkable 
prepotency  could  entirely  offset  it,  and  he  has  been 
unjustly  faulted  for  siring  a  good  many  colts  not  of 
popular  colors. 

The  colts  sired  by  Brilliant  3d  at  Oaklawn  were 
developed  and  sold  at  high  prices,  those  on  which 


♦Anxiety  to  have  Brilliant  3d  in  the  best  possible  condition 
led  to  the  use  of  whole  milk,  recommended  by  another  breeder. 
Too  much  was  given,  probably  because  of  inexperience  and  the 
greediness  of  the  horse.  The  result  was  the  most  acute  case  of 
founder  ever  known  at  Oaklawn.  Heroic  measures  saved  him,  but 
he  was  hopelessly  crippled  for  life. 


346  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

individual  prices  can  be  ascertained  averaging  $812 
each  during  the  time  when  extremely  low  prices  were 
the  rule.  The  colts  he  begot  in  Kansas  were  not 
developed,  were  small  because  stunted,  and  conse- 
quently sold  at  very  low  prices.  Despite  this  they 
grew  out  and  made  good  breeding  stock,  quite  profit- 
able to  their  subsequent  owners.  As  a  whole,  how- 
ever, the  chief  good  done  to  the  breed  by  Brilliant  3d 
was  in  France,  as  the  colts  sired  by  him  in  America 
were  too  few  to  make  his  services  here  especially 
important.  His  imported  descendants,  however, 
have  exerted  a  profound  influence  on  Percheron 
breeding  in  America.  He  was  unquestionably  the 
greatest  sire  the  breed  has  known  in  the  last  30 
years,  when  his  work  in  both  France  and  America 
is  considered,  and  his  injury  just  after  importation 
was  a  great  loss  to  Percheron  breeding  in  this  coun- 
try. 

Other  Oaklawn  Sires. — Brilliant  3d's  injuries  led 
Mr.  Dunham  to  use  Marathon  freely  in  1890.  Mara- 
thon was  foaled  in  1885.  He  was  first  in  the  three- 
year-old  class  at  the  annual  show  held  by  the  Societe 
Hippique  Percheronne  de  France  in  1888  and  first 
in  the  aged  stallion  class  at  that  show  in  1889.  He 
stood  17  hands  high,  weighed  more  than  2,100 
pounds  in  show  condition,  and  was  unusual  in  his 
muscular  development  and  well-proportioned 
throughout.  He  was  somewhat  larger  and  more 
massive  in  type  than  Brilliant  3d,  with  hardly  so 
much  finish.  Both  were  grandsons  of  Brilliant  1271 
• — Brilliant    3d    through    Fenelon    and    Marathon 


LA    iEKTE    5144. FKOM   AN    OLD   PHOiOGKAPH    AT   OAKLAWN    FAEM. 


POWii;Ki<'UL  6670  (BAVABD  7519),  ONE  OF  TiLK  MOST  NUTEU  aiitl^S  KVJSB 
USED  IN  CENTRAL  ILLINOIS.  THIS  PICTURE  TAKEN  WHEN  HE  WAS 
26  YEARS   OF   AGE. 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         347 

througli  Voltaire — and  both  were  out  of  daughters 
of  Brilliant  1899.  Marathon  sired  colts  of  great  uni- 
formity, much  after  his  own  type.  He  stands  seventh 
among  the  sires  in  France  in  number  of  prize-win- 
ning descendants  at  the  Societe  Hippique  Perche- 
ronne  de  France  shows  from  1901  to  1910.  His  colts 
at  Oaklawn  proved  to  be  extra  good — large,  heavy- 
boned,  well-proportioned.  Before  they  were  all 
foaled,  in  1891,  C.  P.  Jones  of  Minneapolis,  Minn., 
came  to  Oaklawn  and  secured  the  assistance  of 
James  M.  Fletcher  in  purchasing  three  or  four  car- 
loads of  grade  draft  mares  in  Kane  and  Du  Page 
counties.  After  buying  the  mares  he  went  to  Oak- 
lawn to  buy  a  stallion  and  would  not  be  put  off  with 
anything  short  of  Marathon,  then  the  best  individual 
in  stud  service.  He  finally  bought  the  horse  for 
$3,000  cash  and  shipped  him  to  Minnesota  with  the 
grade  mares.  Marathon  did  not  sire  a  purebred  colt 
after  leaving  Oaklawn,  and  his  sale  was  undoubtedly 
a  serious  loss  to  Percheron  breeding  interests  there, 
as  the  sale  of  Brilliant  3d  and  the  death  of  Bril- 
liant 1271  removed  the  only  sires  at  all  comparable 
with  Marathon,  and  his  absence  was  keenly  felt  from 
1893  on.  In  this  case,  as  in  many  others  where  a 
valuable  sire  is  lost,  the  mistake  was  not  fully  real- 
ized until  nearly  a  decade  had  elapsed. 

Introuvable  16875  (24146),  champion  at  the  Co- 
lumbian Exposition  in  1893,  was  used  from  1893  to 
1897.  He  was  black  without  markings  and  a  horse 
of  immense  size,  standing  over  17.2  hands  high  and 
weighing  more  than  2,300  pounds  in  show  condition. 


3-18  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

He  was  hardly  as  symmetrical  as  his  predecessors, 
and  was  a  bit  coarse;  but  his  colts  were  large  and 
sold  well,  and  they  have  bred  on  very  satisfactorily. 
Introuvable  died  at  Oaklawn  Farm  on  June  22, 
1897. 

Aiglon  13145  (8187)  was  used  in  the  stud  from 
1892  to  1896  and  sired  more  colts  at  Oaklawn  than 
any  other  horse  used  during  this  decade.  He  is  gen- 
erally considered  the  greatest  son  Gilbert  5154  ever 
sired.  His  dam,  Bijou  (4328),  was  a  half-sister  of 
La  Ferte  5144.  She  was  a  very  large  mare,  standing 
about  17  hands  high  and  weighing  about  2,100 
pounds.  With  all  her  size  she  was  a  mare  of  unusual 
finish  and  was  one  of  the  best  mares  in  France  dur- 
ing her  time.  Individually  Aiglon  was  about  16.1 
hands  high  and  weighed  about  1,900  pounds.  He 
was  of  a  rather  blocky  type,  deep-bodied,  massive, 
very  heavy  in  muscling,  and  sjmimetrical  in  build. 
His  quality  and  finish  were  excellent,  and  his  colts, 
while  not  the  largest,  were  unusually  good  and  sold 
at  high  prices. 

La  Ferte  5144,  previously  discussed,  was  used  to 
some  extent  during  this  time,  but  was  out  on  lease 
to  M.  0.  Brownlee,  Little  York,  111.,  in  1893.  He 
died  in  1895. 

Villers  13169  (8081)  was  sold  to  H.  A.  Babcock, 
Neenah,  Wis.,  and  was  used  by  him  from  1890  to 
1897.  Mr.  Dunham  was  so  impressed  with  the  char- 
acter of  his  colts  that  he  bought  him  back  on  April 
19,  1897,  and  he  was  used  at  Oaklawn  for  four 
seasons.     He  was  about  17  hands  in  height  and 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION  349 

weighed  over  2,100  pounds  in  show  condition.  He 
was  an  exceptional  horse,  fine  in  head  with  a  clean- 
cut  neck,  well  set  on,  strong  back,  powerful  loin, 
level  croup,  well-set  tail,  heavily  muscled  quarters, 
thighs  and  gaskins,  deep-ribbed,  round-baiTelled, 
extra  well-set  legs  and  good  feet.  He  was  heavy  in 
bone,  with  tendons  well  set  back,  and  was  extra 
good  in  quality  and  action.  As  a  sire  he  is  out- 
ranked only  by  Brilliant  3d  and  Besigue  (19602)  in 
number  of  prize-winning  descendants,  and  he  un- 
doubtedly did  more  for  the  breed  in  America  than 
even  Brilliant  3d,  owing  to  longer  and  more  liberal 
service.  He  had  a  touch  of  founder  at  one  time, 
which  made  him  a  bit  short  in  front.  This  was  the 
only  thing  which  dissuaded  A.  L.  Eobison,  Sr.,  Pekin, 
111.,  from  placing  him  at  the  head  of  the  Leslie 
Farm  stud  in  1900,  and  Mr.  Eobison  recently  stated 
that  he  felt  he  had  erred  in  judgment,  Villers  being 
one  of  the  most  perfect  Percheron  types  he  had  ever 
seen.  Villers  was  eventually  sold  to  Perry  &  Porter- 
field,  Wayne,  Neb.,  March  15, 1901,  but  had  no  chance 
on  purebred  mares. 

The  most  noted  son  of  Villers  was  Jules  (37987), 
a  horse  that  was  rated  as  the  leading  sire  in  the 
Perche  between  1900  and  the  time  of  his  death. 

Oaklawn  Mares  and  Colts. — Mr.  Dunham  persist- 
ently held  to  his  best  mares,  save  in  rare  instances 
when  it  seemed  necessary  to  let  a  great  brood  mare 
go  to  close  the  sale  of  a  group.  The  most  important 
dams  have  been  considered  w^ith  the  exception  of 
Bertha  5340    (7008).     She  was  one  of  Oaklawn 's 


350  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

greatest  dams,  a  remarkable  show  mare  and  a  pro- 
ducer of  uniformly  high-class  colts.  She  raised  9 
colts  of  record  in  13  years,  and  James  M.  Fletcher 
states  that  to  the  best  of  his  recollection  she  pro- 
duced more  dollars'  worth  of  colts  than  any  mare 
ever  used  at  Oaklawn.  Illustre  20489  was  one  of 
her  good  sons  that  later  headed  the  Lakewood  stud 
at  Eock  Eapids,  la.;  he  was  sold  as  a  two-year-old 
in  1899  when  prices  were  low  for  $1,350. 

Some  other  good  colts  bred  at  Oaklawn  during  this 
time  and  sold  to  head  purebred  studs  were  Aleutian 
21977,  foaled  in  1898  and  sold  to  the  Denver  Trust 
&  Warehouse  Co.,  and  Aurelian  21974,  also  foaled  in 
1898,  and  sold  to  head  a  stud  in  Minnesota. 

Oaklawn  Sales  and  Leases. — Among  important 
sales  or  leases  during  this  period  were  many  to  men 
who  have  since  become  prominent  Percheron  breed- 
ers in  their  respective  communities.  Some  of  the 
chief  ones  were  as  follows: 

W.  P.  Reiser,  Walla  Walla,  Wash.,  on  Oct.  10, 
1898,  bought  a  stallion  and  2  mares. 

W.  F.  Mixer,  Painesville,  O.,  in  1890  and  1891, 
bought  a  pair  of  mares. 

C.  M.  Jones,  Plain  City,  O.,  bought  the  stud  sire 
Moreri  16950  (40246). 

John  Yost  &  Son,  Thomville,  0.,  in  1899,  bought 
6  mares  and  a  stallion. 

H.  H.  Lewis,  Selma,  Ind.,  in  1892  and  1893,  bought 
a  pair  of  mares  and  a  stallion;  he  also  leased  11 
mares  about  1893. 

Dilley  Bros.,  Hebron,  Ind.,  in  1890,   '91  and  '92, 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  351 

bought  a  stallion  and  4  mares.  Tliey  also  had  some 
mares  on  lease. 

E.  J.  Wigle,  Kingsville,  Ontario,  in  1899,  bought  a 
stallion  and  3  mares. 

H.  G.  McMillan,  Eock  Eapids,  la.,  in  1899,  bought 
a  stud  stallion. 

Willard  &  Fuller,  Mapleton,  Minn.,  in  1890,  bought 
3  stallions  and  3  mares.  This  fiiin  leased  2  stallions 
and  10  extra  good  mares  in  1893,  and  also  leased 
another  stallion  in  1894. 

M.  C.  Brownlee,  Little  York,  111.,  about  1893,  leased 
the  stallion  La  Ferte  and  14  mares.  This  lease  ter- 
minated July  25,  1896. 

A.  P.  Nave,  Attica,  Ind.,  leased  a  stallion  and  11 
mares  in  August,  1897.  He  bought  a  stallion  and  5 
mares  in  1899. 

W.  H.  Penny,  Raritan,  111.,  bought  a  stallion  in 
each  of  the  years  1890,  '91  and  '95,  and  3  mares  in 
1891  and  1899. 

W.  L.  Houser,  Mondovi,  Wis.,  in  1900,  bought  a 
stallion  and  2  mares. 

G.  H.  &  F.  A.  Reed,  Lilylake,  111.,  in  1897  bought 
a  pair  of  mares,  and  in  1898  bought  another  pair 
of  mares  and  a  stallion. 

H.  A.  Babcock,  Neenah,  Wis.,  leased  8  mares  early 
in  the  '90 's. 

Elijah  Walker,  Macon,  111.,  had  3  mares,  and  Rolley 
Patterson  &  Bros.,  Hunrich,  111.,  and  Harry  Dunbar, 
Galesburg,  111.,  were  others  who  had  4  mares  each 
out  on  lease  during  this  time. 

This  does  not  begin  to  be  a  complete  review,  but 


352  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

it  does  give  a  glimpse  into  operations  during  the 
depressed  times. 

The  Great  Leader. — Over  and  above  all  details,  the 
most  striking  feature  of  Oaklawn's  work  at  this  time 
is  to  be  found  in  the  personality  of  Mark  W.  Dun- 
ham himself.  His  genius  for  organization  and  his 
extraordinary  ability  as  a  salesman  enabled  him  to 
maintain  the  great  Oaklawn  stud  intact  in  spite  of 
the  financial  panic  and  the  hard  times. 

When  other  men  could  not  sell  Percherons,  or  sold 
at  ridiculously  low  prices,  Mr.  Dunham  inspired  con- 
fidence in  the  final  outcome,  encouraged  many  men 
to  hold  on,  and  was  successful  in  making  sales  at 
good  prices.  There  was  not  a  season,  even  in  the 
worst  years,  when  he  was  not  well  sold  out  by  May, 
so  far  as  stallions  of  serviceable  age  were  concerned. 
It  is  true  that  he  did  not  make  importations  for 
several  years  and  that  his  operations  were  limited; 
but  the  stallions  he  raised  or  bought  in  America 
were  sold  at  prices  that  left  him  a  good  profit,  and 
he  was  instrumental  in  causing  several  wealthy  men 
to  enlarge  their  Percheron  holdings  at  a  time  when 
the  vast  majority  of  breeders  had  given  up  all  hope. 
He  had  faith,  enthusiasm,  foresight,  and  a  knowledge 
of  human  nature  which  made  him  more  than  ever  a 
commanding  figure  in  the  business  when  others  had 
failed  to  weather  the  storm.  His  death  in  February, 
1899,  aged  53  years,  was  as  great  a  loss  to  Percheron 
interests  as  the  death  of  a  general  of  military  genius 
at  the  critical  point  in  a  great  battle,  for  Percheron 
breeding  was  just  rounding  into  shape  for  a  mar- 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  353 

velous  recovery  from  years  of  depression.  Mark  W. 
Dunham's  death  removed  the  one  leader  in  whom 
all  interests  had  confidence,  the  one  who  could  have 
brought  order  out  of  chaos  in  the  breeding  field  and 
in  record  association  affairs.  The  bitter  strife  which 
split  Percheron  breeders  into  three  rival  camps  and 
did  incalculable  damage  between  1900  and  1911 
would  undoubtedly  have  been  averted  had  he  sur- 
vived. No  more  honorable  breeder  ever  lived,  and 
there  were  few  indeed,  in  any  land,  who  possessed  his 
genius  for  constructive  work  and  his  ability  to  com- 
mand support  from  all  classes  of  men.  Time,  giving 
true  perspective,  reveals  him  as  the  great  Percheron 
leader  of  his  period,  and  the  fleeting  years  only  in- 
crease the  estimate  which  thoughtful  Percheron 
breeders  place  on  his  work. 

At  the  time  of  Mark  W.  Dunham's  death  his  son 
Wirth  S.  was  but  21  years  old,  and  the  two  daughters 
were  young.  Mrs.  Dunham  had  died  some  years  be- 
fore. It  was  Mr.  Dunham's  request  that  the  business 
should  devolve  on  Wirth,  but  that  he  should  take 
James  M.  Fletcher  and  C.  E.  Coleman  into  partner- 
ship in  the  selling  organization,  retaining  control  of 
the  farm  and  brood  mares  under  the  name  of  the 
estate. 

James  M.  Fletcher,  a  nephew  of  Mark  W.  Dunham, 
attained  a  high  place  in  Percheron  affairs.  He  was  a 
horseman  by  birth  and  training,  and  was  developed 
by  frequent  trips  to  France  with  Leonard  Johnson 
and  by  association  with  Mr.  Dunham's  operations  at 
Oak] awn.    He  spoke  French  fluently  and  from  1887 


354  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

to  the  time  of  Mr.  Dunliam's  death  bought  far  more 
horses  in  France  than  any  other  buyer.  His  judg- 
ment of  horses  was  conceded  to  be  second  to  none 
and  he  was  a  careful  buyer.  Oaklawn^s  importance 
as  a  purchaser  gave  the  farm  the  first  option  on  the 
colts  held  by  the  leading  stallioner  and  breeder  of 
France,  Ernest  Perriot,  Sr.,  and  on  those  held  by 
many  other  leaders.  Mr.  Dunham  had  well-founded 
confidence  in  James  Fletcher's  judgment  and  integ- 
rity. 

C.  R.  Coleman  had  been  with  Mr.  Dunham  in  the 
early  '80 's,  had  subsequently  been  in  partnership 
with  Mr.  Avery  at  Wakefield,  Kans.,  for  about  a  de- 
cade, and  had  again  worked  for  the  Oaklawn  organi- 
zation as  a  salesman.  He  had  formed  a  partnership 
with  James  M.  Fletcher  about  1896  or  1897  and  the 
firm  had  a  good  many  horses  in  '97  and  '98.  Mr. 
Dunham  realized  Mr.  Coleman's  ability  as  a  sales- 
man, and  felt  that  with  Fletcher  to  handle  the  pur- 
chasing and  Coleman  the  selling  the  firm  would  be 
on  a  safe  foundation,  despite  the  fact  that  Wirth,  on 
account  of  having  been  kept  away  at  school,  knew 
practically  nothing  of  the  business. 

Mr.  Dunham's  judgment  proved  true  in  this  as  in 
other  matters,  and  the  firm  of  Dunham,  Fletcher  & 
Coleman,  organized  in  1899,  maintained  the  prestige 
of  Oaklawn  until  the  ripening  experience  of  the  son 
enabled  him  to  succeed  to  sole  control  of  the  busi- 
ness. 

Other  Illinois  Breeders. — Daniel  Dunham's  stud 
was  sold  in  1892  or   '93.     The  Ellwoods  sold  and 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  355 

traded  their  liorses  for  land  so  rapidly  that  they 
raised  but  few  after  1893  and  were  virtually  out  of 
business  by  1899.  The  Winter  &  Hunger  stud  was 
scattered  to  the  four-winds  by  private  sales  in  1894, 
'95  and  '96,  winding  up  entirely  in  1899.  Geo.  S. 
Hanna's  stud  was  dispersed,  largely  by  trades  for 
farm  land,  in  1892,  '93  and  '94,  and  the  mares  were 
widely  scattered.  Jesse  M.  Stetson  succeeded  to 
most  of  the  Percherons  owned  by  Dr.  Ezra  Stetson 
on  his  death  about  1895,  but  Jesse  M.  himself  died 
about  4  years  later  and  most  of  the  stock  was  scat- 
tered all  over  the  United  States  by  sales  held  by  the 
estate  in  1899,  1900  and  1901. 

John  and  Mat  Huston  of  Blandinsville,  111.,  began 
breeding  Percherons  early  in  the  '70 's,  but  did  not 
breed  many  until  after  making  heavy  importations 
late  in  the  '80  's.  They  kept  on  during  the  depression 
and  raised  20  stallions  and  24  mares  during  this 
period.  Their  stock  was  unusually  high-class  in 
character,  because  of  the  selection  of  extra  good  sires 
and  dams.  Plein-D 'Avenir  11287  (7361),  Figaro 
5961  (7708)  and  Forfait  16873  (28578)  were  a  trio 
of  exceptional  sires.  A  large  proportion  of  the  colts 
bred  by  the  Hustons  went  into  use  on  purebred 
mares,  which  is  sigTiificant  of  their  high-class  type 
and  character.  John  Huston  considered  Plein- 
D 'Avenir  the  greatest  Percheron  he  ever  saw,  indi- 
vidually and  as  a  sire,  and  while  his  opinion  may 
be  considered  somewhat  biased,  it  is  certain  that  he 
was  an  extremely  massive,  heavy-boned  sire,  weigh- 
ing more  than  2,200  pounds,  and  a  getter  of  high- 


356  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

class  colts.  He  was  crippled  while  young,  which  de- 
barred him  from  the  showring,  and  undoubtedly 
limited  his  use  to  some  extent.  He  was  a  grandson 
of  Brilliant  1271,  through  Childebert  4283  (451). 
Forfait  was  somewhat  smaller  and  a  show  horse  of 
much  finish,  somewhat  on  the  type  of  Gilbert.  He 
was  useful  in  imparting  more  style  and  finish.  The 
stud  was  dispersed  in  November,  1901,  and  while 
the  stock  did  much  good  in  the  hands  of  new  owners, 
more  would  have  been  accomplished  had  it  been  held 
intact  by  John  Huston,  who  was  a  most  observ^ant, 
constructive  breeder. 

E.  Hodgson  and  W.  E.  Prichard,  both  of  Ottawa, 
111.,  held  persistently  on,  and  raised  some  extra  good 
mares  during  this  time,  most  of  which  were  sired  by 
Confident  3647  (397),  at  the  head  of  the  Nagle  stud. 
Mr.  Prichard  used  Confident  a  little  more  freely  than 
Mr.  Hodgson  did  and  got  more  high-class  brood 
mares  by  him.  The  best  animals  owned  in  both 
studs  at  the  present  time  are  daughters  or  grand- 
daughters of  Confident,  and  both  these  veteran 
breeders,  now  in  their  70 's,  agree  in  declaring  that 
they  should  have  bought  the  old  horse  early  in  the 
'90 's.  As  it  was,  his  colts  raised  at  Nagle 's  were 
stunted  and  the  breed  lost  much  good  blood  it  should 
have  received  from  a  really  great  sire.* 

*M.  C.  Hodg-son  &  Sons  wrote  the  following-  interesting-  note 
in  January,   1915: 

"Hattie  2d  23757,  foaled  in  1899,  by  Confident,  has  raised  8 
colts  in  11  years,  besides  foaling  2  which  died  young.  We  still 
own  3  of  these  colts,  which  we  value  conservatively  at  $1,600,  and 
have  sold  4  of  her  colts,  foaled  in  1905,  '07,  '09  and  '10,  for  $4,400 
— an  average  of  $1,100  each.  Three  were  sold  as  two-year-olds 
and   one   as    a   three.      We   sold   the    first   colt    out    of    her    oldest 


[    J,C,Robison     ]^[  A.LRobisonJr. 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION  357 

James  Brown,  Dwight,  111.,  bred  a  few  good  colts 
from  1891  to  1897,  but  discontinued  in  1899.  Wil- 
liam Hurt  and  W.  R.  Baldwin  were  among  those 
who  held  on  through  the  dark  days,  breeding  a  few 
good  ones  each  year  and  encouraging  farmers  in 
their  localities  to  stick  to  good  horses  and  be  ready 
for  the  tide  to  turn. 

New  Blood. — Much  credit  must  be  given  to  the 
men  who  had  the  courage  and  foresight  to  found 
purebred  studs  of  consequence  during  the  darkest 
days.  Among  those  in  Illinois  entitled  to  special 
mention  in  this  connection  are  A.  L.  Eobison,  Sr., 
of  Pekin,  111.,  and  Dan  Augstin  of  Carlock,  111. 


daughter,  Hattie  3d  41634,  for  $900,  and  have  four  other  colts  left 
out  of  Hattie  3d  which  we  value  at  $2,400,  conservatively  figured. 
Modesty  70296,  the  second  colt  produced  by  Hattie  3d,  was  foaled 
in  1909,  raised  colts  in  1912,  '13,  and  '14  and  is  due  to  foal  again 
in  1915.  Lisette  2d  21574,  a  half-sister  to  Hattie  2d,  also  by  Con- 
fident, was  foaled  in  1S9S,  and  has  dropped  a  colt  every  year  from 
1901  till  1914  except  in  1913,  a  total  of  13  colts  in  14  years.  Four 
of  the  colts  died  young,  however,  so  that  she  has  actually  raised 
9  colts  in  14  years.  We  have  sold  6  of  her  colts  as  yearlings  and 
two-year-olds — none  older — for  $5,150  and  think  those  remaining 
are  worth  at  least  $1,000.  We  still  have  the  mare,  now  17  years 
old  and  carrying  her  14th  colt.  She  is  worth  at  least  $400,  con- 
sidering that  she  is  still  good  for  several  years  in  her  breeding 
career." 

W.  E.  Prichard  says  of  his  two  aged  mares  by  Confident  in 
the  1914  Christmas  issue   of  "The  Breeder's  Gazette": 

"Beauty  of  Highland  18611  was  foaled  in  1893,  and  is  still 
living  and  breeding  regularly  at  21  years  of  age.  I  have  sold  of 
her  direct  produce  colts  to  the  value  of  $8,650  and  have  the  old 
mare  and  7  of  her  produce  conservatively  valued  at  $6,500.  Litta 
17192  was  foaled  in  1892,  and  is  still  breeding  at  22  years  of  age. 
I  have  sold  colts  produced  by  her  to  the  value  of  $5,850  and  still 
have  the  mare  and  several  of  her  produce  valued  conservatively 
at   $3,300." 

Both  breeders  are  agreed  in  declaring  that  they  have  done  no 
more  than  hundreds  of  other  good  horsemen  can  do  if  they  select 
good  stock  and  give  it  proper  care.  It  must  be  noted,  however, 
that  both  men  are  dealers  as  well  as  breeders,  and  sold  their 
horses  direct  to  the  final  user,  thus  eliminating  or  absorbing  the 
middleman's  usual  profit. 


358  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

A.  L.  Robison,  Sr.,  made  liis  start  in  1894,  upon 
the  urgent  insistence  of  liis  father-in-law,  Wilson 
Richmond.     Of  the  latter  Mr.  Eobison  says: 

"He  was  a  born  horseman,  always  bred  and  owned 
good  horses  and  for  50  years  was  never  without  a 
good  stallion  available  for  his  own  use  and  for  other 
breeders.  I  think  he  was  the  keenest  judge  and  had 
the  best  eye  for  a  sire  of  any  man  I  have  ever  known. 
He  was  confident  prices  would  soon  swing  back,  and 
repeatedly  urged  me  to  buy  all  the  good  Percheron 
mares  I  could  while  prices  were  low.  Some  of  my 
first  mares  were  bought  from  him,  and  it  was  largely 
at  his  suggestion  that  I  bought  Powerful  6670 
(Bayard  7519)  in  1889,  wlien  he  was  20  years  old. 
He  always  insisted  that  a  man  breeding  Percherons 
should,  if  possible,  never  place  other  than  a  tried 
sire  at  the  head  of  his  stud.  His  sound  counsel  and 
reliable  judgment  were  of  incalcuable  value  to  me 
in  founding  Leslie  Farm  stud.  Powerful  made  our 
stud  at  the  outset,  and  I  subsequentlv  bought  Se- 
ducteur  8850  (7057)  and  Rabelais  52564  (43442), 
both  tried  sires  and  horses  with  the  best  of  breeding 
behind  them.  The  veteran  has  left  us,  but  his  in- 
fluence is  still  with  us.'^ 

To  this  definite  policy — the  use  of  tried  sires  only 
— the  remarkable  progress  of  the  Robison  stud  is 
justly  due,  and  it  is  questionable  whether  many  other 
breeders  in  America  can  point  to  a  record  so  free 
from  mistakes  in  stud  sires  used. 

Dan  Augstin  had  been  breeding  good  draft  horses 
from  sometime  in  the  '80 's,  and  stepped  into  the 
Percheron  ranks  in  1895.  He,  too,  was  influenced 
to  make  purchases  while  horses  were  low.  John 
Baughman  was  his  first  counselor,  and  Ferdinand 


4 


PEHGHERON    JVIAEE    AJSTD    FOAL.    IN    AN    ILLINOIS    PASTUKE. 


IMPORTED    HORACE    7884.     AN    OLD-TIiME    WLNNEB    AiND    POPUL.AR    SIRE    IN 

MICHIGAN. 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  359 

Basting,  Yuton,  111.,  and  AYilliam  Hurt,  Arrowsmith, 
111.,  were  others  wliose  excellent  stock  and  entlin- 
siastic  support  of  Perclierons  did  much  to  encourage 
him  to  make  a  start  in  dark  days. 

Augstin's  foundation  stock  was  drawn  largely 
from  Ed.  Hodgson  and  William  Hurt.  He  had  some 
of  Hodgson's  mares  on  lease  for  a  time  and  also  pur- 
chased some.  In  this  case,  as  in  the  one  previously 
cited,  mistakes  were  avoided  and  good  foundation 
stock  secured  by  heeding  the  counsel  of  experienced 
breeders  who  had  no  ulterior  motives.  These  cases 
and  hundrds  of  others  which  could  be  given  empha- 
size the  value  of  experienced  advisors  when  begin- 
ners are  founding  studs,  and  the  extreme  importance 
of  starting  right.  Countless  breeders  of  live  stock 
have  rushed  in  ^Svhere  angels  fear  to  tread''  and 
have  found  to  their  sorrow  that  buying  breeding 
animals  is  vastly  different  from  purchasing  sugar  or 
salt. 

There  are  other  important  breeders  in  Illinois  who 
started  during  this  period,  but  it  is  impossible  to 
consider  all.  The  number  increased  materially,  espe- 
cially in  counties  where  much  stock  was  already 
available.  In  McLean  county  Percheron  breeders 
increased  to  81;  in  La  Salle  to  39;  in  Tazewell  to 
24;  in  Woodford  to  18;  in  Fulton  to  21;  in  Iroquois 
to  19;  in  Livingston  to  28;  in  Bureau  to  29;  and  in 
DuPage  to  19.  North  central  Illinois  had  laid  the 
foundation  which  makes  it  today  the  most  central- 
ized and  most  heavily  stocked  Percheron  breeding 
district  in  the  United  States. 


360  A   HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Progress  in  Iowa. — The  number  of  breeders  in 
Iowa  increased  from  66  in  1890  to  204  in  1900,  more 
than  trebling  during  the  hard  times.  Singmaster  & 
Sons,  H.  G.  McMillan,  L.  H.  Humbert,  M.  L.  Ayres, 
William  Sprole,  J.  H.  Barnett,  L.  G.  Parker  and 
H.  S.  Hoyman  were  the  leading  breeders  of  this 
period. 

The  Singmasters  continued  operations  along  the 
same  general  lines  as  in  the  '80 's,  but  leased  a  good 
many  mares  and  sold  some  on  a  share  basis,  agree- 
ing to  take  the  first  3  colts  at  weaning  time  in  full 
payment  for  the  mare.  The  mares  kept  at  the  home 
farms  ran  out  on  pasture  and  received  scant  atten- 
tion during  the  hard  times,  but  breeding  was  kept 
up  and  many  colts  raised,  although  records  were 
not  kept  as  carefully  as  they  should  have  been.  The 
breeding  was  done  largely  in  hit  or  miss  fashion, 
without  making  special  effort  to  mate  certain  mares 
to  sires  best  suited  to  them  in  type  and  bloodlines. 
As  a  consequence  the  horses  bred  during  this  time 
lacked  uniformity  in  type,  color  and  prepotency. 
These  faults  were  so  apparent  that  they  have  of 
their  own  weight  forced  a  revision  of  policy.  Prog- 
ress has  been  marked  in  later  years,  but  nothing  of 
consequence  was  done  by  the  firm  during  the  '90 's, 
save  in  the  production  of  a  large  number  of  Per- 
cherons. 

J.  H.  Barnett,  whose  work  has  previously  been 
touched  on,  bred  40  Percherons  at  Chestnut  Farm 
during  this  period.  He  was  one  of  the  best  farmers 
and    stockmen   of   central   Iowa   and   his   personal 


A  PERIOD  OP  PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  361 

standing  and  popularity  were  sncli  that  he  was 
elected  to  the  state  senate  as  a  Democrat,  although 
the  district  was  strongly  Republican.  He  served  in 
the  state  senate  in  1888  and  1890,  and  his  influence, 
admittedly  great  in  Iowa,  was  thrown  strongly  in 
favor  of  Percheron  horses.  He  counselled  farmers 
to  hold  their  good  mares  and  to  buy  more  while 
they  were  cheap.  He  practiced  this  himself  and 
bought  E.  A.  Noble's  entire  stud  of  26  head  in  1897. 
His  best  colts,  on  which  he  won  many  premiums  at 
the  Iowa  State  Fair  in  the  '80 's  and  '90 's,  were 
descended  from  his  foundation  mares  bought  of  M. 
W.  Dunham  Oct.  23,  1882.  Itala  1436  was  the  most 
profitable.  She  was  struck  by  lightning  when  about 
4  years  old  and  blinded  for  life,  but  raised  10  colts 
of  record  between  1884  and  1897,  and  proved  to  be 
the  most  profitable  mare  he  ever  owned.  The  best 
sire  ever  owned  by  Mr.  Barnett  was  Champagne  2312 
(1117),  a  bay  grandson  of  Coco  2d  (714),  bought 
from  M.  W.  Dunham  in  1883  by  the  Warren  County 
Breeders'  Association,  in  which  Mr.  Barnett  was  a 
leader.  This  horse  continued  in  use  well  into  the 
'90 's  and  left  some  very  good  stock.  Mr.  Barnett 's 
influence  was  at  all  times  for  careful,  constructive 
breeding,  and  he  gave  much  needed  support  to  Per- 
cheron interests  during  depressed  times. 

William  Sprole  was  one  of  the  most  substantial 
farmers  and  cattle  breeders  near  Traer,  la.  He 
began  Percheron-breeding  in  1886  by  selecting  a  pair 
of  the  best  mares  obtainable  at  Oaklawn.  He  gave 
$3,000  for  the  pair.    One  was  a  daughter  of  Brilliant 


362  A   HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

1899.  In  the  next  few  years  lie  bought  some  of  the 
best  mares  W.  L.  Ellwood  imported  and  also  bought 
the  stallion  Superior  14042,  bred  by  Ellwood,  to  use 
in  his  stud.  He  held  on  throughout  the  '90  's,  despite 
discouragements,  and  as  might  be  expected  from 
the  high  character  of  his  foundation  purchases,  bred 
some  exceptional  colts.  He  was  not  a  dealer,  how- 
ever, and  sold  most  of  the  colts  at  modest  prices  to 
a  local  trade.  James  M.  Fletcher  thought  so  well 
of  the  colts  that  he  bought  a  number  of  them  about 
1897  or  1898  and  paid  $1,000  for  one  which  Mr. 
Sprole  had  sold  to  a  neighbor.  The  good  done  by 
Mr.  Sprole 's  operations  was  far-reaching;  he  was  a 
man  of  strict  integrity,  careful  in  his  breeding  opera- 
tions, and  very  influential  in  his  district.  The  Traer 
district  was  noted  for  extra  good  draft  horses  dur- 
ing the  late  '90 's  and  the  early  part  of  this  century. 
No  small  share  in  this  is  directly  attributable  to  Mr. 
Sprole 's  work. 

L.  G.  Parker  was  another  Iowa  breeder  who  bred 
some  good  horses,  near  Mason  City.  Although  the 
number  he  raised  was  not  large — 33  in  this  decade — 
the  animals  were  good  and  bred  on  well.  He  bought 
Cagliostro  11115  (18849),  one  of  the  best  sons  of  Bril- 
liant 3d,  imported  with  that  sire,  and  used  him  to 
good  advantage  from  1890  till  about  1898.  Some  of 
the  best  things  subsequently  owned  by  G.  N.  Haugen 
and  Martin  Tagesen  were  sired  by  or  descended  from 
him.     The  Parker  stud  was  dispersed  shortly  after 

1900,  but  the  stock  has  done  much  for  Percheron 
breeders  in  northern  Iowa  and  adjacent  states. 


(James Mauldin  J^T    M.LAvres     \ 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         363 

L.  H.  Humbert  was  one  of  the  leading  breeders  in 
southern  Iowa.  French  himself,  he  selected  some 
very  good  breeding  stock  in  the  Perche.  He  had 
started  before  the  depression,  had  faith  in  the  final 
outcome,  and  held  to  his  good  stock  through  the 
worst  years.  He  ranked  fourth  in  Iowa  in  number 
of  animals  bred  during  this  decade,  sold  most  of  his 
surplus  locally,  and  did  much  to  encourage  others  to 
keep  on. 

M.  L.  Ayres,  like  Mr.  Humbert,  had  started  before 
the  hard  times.  He  was  a  rugged  farmer,  with  de- 
cided ideas  regarding  the  values  of  good  horses;  he 
hung  tenaciously  to  his  best  stock,  although  the 
panic  crippled  him  to  a  considerable  extent  finan- 
cially. Many  of  the  stallions  produced  by  him  dur- 
ing the  '90 's  were  castrated,  and  a  great  many  of 
the  mares  sold  without  registration.  He  kept  the 
best,  however,  and  was  in  a  sound  position  to  go  on 
when  times  changed  for  the  better.  He  handled  good 
horses  and  was  one  of  the  best  feeders  Iowa  has 
ever  had  engaged  in  the  development  of  Percherons. 
The  best  sire  he  used  during  this  period  was  Said 
4825  (674).  Massena  26143  (40251)  and  Blande 
29259  (36577)  were  valuable  sires  used  a  little  later. 
Blande  was  a  son  of  Brilliant  3d  and  had  been  used 
some  time  in  Ernest  Perriot's  stud.  Mr.  Ayres 
has  undoubtedly  exerted  a  greater  influence  on  Per- 
cheron  breeding  than  any  other  man  in  southwestern 
Iowa.  He  bought  and  developed  a  good  many 
American-bred  colts  and  always  insisted  that  the 
colts  he  bought  in  the  district  near  BlandinsviUe^ 


364  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

111.,  were  heavier-boned,  more  rugged,  draftier 
horses  than  any  he  could  buy  elsewhere. 

H.  S.  Hoyman,  Stanwood,  la.,  bred  only  19  Per- 
cherons  during  this  decade,  but  helped  give  stability 
and  encouragement  to  Percheron  interests  in  east 
central  Iowa,  and  started  a  great  many  others  in 
Percheron  breeding  when  times  changed  for  the 
better. 

A  factor  which  cannot  be  overlooked  in  consid- 
ering Percheron  breeding  in  Iowa  is  the  influence  of 
Percheron  sires  in  communities  where  there  were  no 
Percheron  mares.  Iowa  farmers  believed  in  draft 
horses,  purchased  more  Percherons  than  the  farmers 
in  any  other  state  except  Illinois,  and  even  in  dis- 
tricts where  only  grade  mares  were  available  were 
liberal  buyers  and  patrons  of  the  best  Percheron 
sires  obtainable.  Some  noted  Percheron  horses  were 
used  in  the  state  on  grade  mares  only,  and  while  the 
breed  as  a  whole  suffered  a  loss,  farmers  in  general 
made  an  immediate  gain  by  having  available  sires 
good  enough  in  individuality  and  breeding  to  have 
been  at  the  head  of  some  of  the  best  purebred  studs. 
The  record  of  Brilliant  1899  was  an  illustration  of 
this,  and  there  were  numerous  others  almost  as  im- 
portant. The  ultimate  effect,  however,  was  to 
strengthen  the  esteem  of  Iowa  farmers  for  Perche- 
rons, and  the  breed  is  more  widely  distributed  now 
in  that  state  than  in  any  other. 

Lakewood  Farm. — A  number  of  studs  that  sub- 
sequently became  widely  known  were  founded  in 
Iowa  during  the  depression.     The  most  important 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         365 

was  that  of  H.  G.  McMillan,  whose  Lakewood  stud 
at  Eock  Eapids,  la.,  has  furnished  more  American- 
bred  prize-winners  than  any  other  stud  in  America 
in  the  past  20  years. 

Mr.  McMillan  had  grown  up  with  good  horses,  as 
his  father,  located  near  Washington,  la.,  had  been 
a  strong  supporter  of  draft  horses  for  farm  work 
and  a  patron  of  the  earliest  Percheron  sires  taken 
to  that  part  of  Iowa.  H.  G.  McMillan  himself,  after 
being  admitted  to  the  bar,  located  at  Eock  Eapids, 
la.,  and  soon  won  prominence  in  law  and  politics. 
He  was  a  heavy  purchaser  of  farm  land,  and  Lake- 
wood  Farm,  located  near  Eock  Eapids,  comprised 
about  1,000  acres  during  the  '80 's  and  '90 's. 

To  Lakewood  Farm  Mr.  McMillan  took  some  of  the 
good  mares  of  his  father's  breeding — mares  which 
had  4  and  5  top  crosses  by  purebred  Percheron  sires. 
The  economic  advantage  which  these  heavy  draft 
mares  had  in  farm  operations  impressed  him,  and 
as  he  had  faith  in  the  ultimate  outcome  for  horse- 
breeding  he  bought  in  1896  the  entire  Percheron  stud 
of  J.  H.  Funk,  consisting  of  about  30  head. 

Mr.  Funk  had  started  in  the  '80 's,  while  located 
near  Dwight,  111.  His  foundation  stock  was  drawn 
from  the  Dillons,  D.  H.  Vandolah,  J.  J.  Kemp  and 
Copeland  &  Holder.  He  had  selected  some  of  the 
best  stock  obtainable  from  these  importers  and 
transferred  his  Percheron  horses  to  a  farm  near 
Iowa  Falls,  la.,  about  1890.  Here  he  bred  Nubian 
17467,  foaled  in  1892,  the  horse  at  the  head  of  the 
stud  when  it  was  purchased  by  Lakewood  Farm. 


'366  A   HISTORY   OF   THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

Mr.  Funk  had  other  business  interests  and  could  not 
give  personal  attention  to  his  Percherons.  His  men 
had  not  been  good  horsemen  and  he  had  grown  so 
discouraged  that  he  took  Mr.  McMillan  to  his  farm 
in  the  winter,  when  the  horses  were  thin,  ill-con- 
ditioned and  rough  in  the  extreme,  and  practical- 
ly forced  their  sale  at  a  mere  song.  Despite  the 
bad  condition  of  the  horses,  they  had  real  merit  in 
blood  and  individuality  and  soon  grew  into  high- 
class  horses  when  put  under  proper  conditions. 
Nubian  developed  into  a  very  large,  massive  stallion, 
standing  over  17  hands  high  and  weighing  over 
2,200  pounds  when  in  good  condition.  He  was  fairly 
well-proportioned,  and  heavy  in  bone,  with  flint-like 
quality  in  cannons  and  joints.  His  colts  averaged 
well  in  size  and  type  and  were  above  the  average  in 
soundness.  The  mares  bought  from  Mr.  Funk  proved 
good  breeders  and  one,  Myrtha  8133  (12601),  was 
one  of  the  most  valuable  brood  mares  owned  in  the 
early  history  of  the  Lakewood  stud.  She  was  the 
dam  of  Nubian  and  of  several  other  good  ones. 

The  same  year,  and  shortly  after  purchasing  the 
J.  H.  Funk  stud,  Mr.  McMillan  bought  about  25 
Percherons  from  Winter  &  Munger,  Princeton,  111. 
This  stud  was  one  of  the  good  ones  in  Illinois,  and 
has  been  fully  discussed  in  earlier  chapters.  In  this; 
bunch  Lakewood  Farm  acquired  some  very  valuable 
brood  mares  and  some  good  young  stock.  The  Win- 
ter &  Munger  horses,  like  Funk's,  had  been  allowed 
to  fall  into  very  bad  condition,  and  they  were  bought 
cheaply,  but  as  in  the  case  of  the  others,  the  good 


^tC 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         367 

breeding  soon  showed  itself  when  feed  and  care  were 
properly  given. 

On  Dec.  5,  1899,  Illustre  20489,  bred  at  Oaklawn, 
was  bought  to  supplement  Nubian  in  the  Lakewood 
stud.  He  was  by  Introuvable  16875  and  out  of 
Bertha  5340,  and  was  very  good  individually,  but 
did  not  prove  as  effective  as  had  been  hoped. 
Through  advertising  Illustre,  however,  Mr.  McMillan 
discovered  Seducteur  8850  (7057)  and  bought  him 
in  the  spring  of  1900.  The  old  horse  had  been  in 
the  hands  of  Jacob  Waltemeyer,  Melbourne,  la.,  for 
several  years  and  had  sired  some  extra  good  colts, 
but  had  not  been  very  sure.  He  was  taken  to  Lake- 
wood  Farm  and  made  seasons  there  in  1900  and  1901, 
but  was  sold  in  the  spring  of  1902  to  A.  L.  Robison, 
Sr.,  to  head  the  Leslie  Farm  stud  at  Pekin,  111. 

In  the  fall  of  1900,  a  deal  was  made  for  the  mares 
and  young  stock  owned  by  the  Upson  Farming  Co., 
Cumings,  N.  D.  The  horses  owned  by  this  firm  had 
been  bred  from  some  of  the  best  stock  obtained  from 
Leonard  Johnson.  In  this  lot  were  Norma  9672 
(13394)  (the  mare  that  subsequently  produced 
lolanthe  40925,  twice  an  International  champion), 
Gondole  6696  (10862),  a  great  brood  mare,  and  a 
number  of  other  females. 

This  rounded  out  the  foundation  purchases  made 
for  the  Lakewood  stud  in  this  decade.  Three  com- 
plete studs,  in  which  breeding  operations  had  been 
carried  on  for  from  12  to  22  years  and  in  which  the 
best  breeding  mares  had  been  retained,  were  bought 
outright.    This  took  some  exceptional  breeding  ani- 


368  A  HISTORY  OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

mals  to  Lakewood  Farm,  both  as  to  individuality  and 
bloodlines.  From  this  foundation  winners  were  bred 
and  developed. 

Developments  in  Ohio. — Despite  all  discourage- 
ments, and  in  part  because  of  them,  the  number  of 
breeders  in  Ohio  increased  from  55  in  1890  to  146 
in  1900,  almost  trebling  during  the  depression.  Al- 
though third  in  number  of  breeders,  the  state  stood 
fifth  in  the  number  of  recorded  Percherons  produced 
during  the  decade,  Illinois,  loAva,  Minnesota  and 
Wisconsin  outranking  Ohio  in  the  order  named  in 
number  produced.  Jones  Bros.,  whose  actual  work 
was  directed  by  C.  M.  Jones,  retained  the  leadership 
held  since  1864  and  bred  53  Percherons  during  the 
time  considered.  Several  men  who  had  been  prom- 
inent during  the  '80  's  dropped  from  front-rank  posi- 
tions, either  dispersing  their  studs,  or  materially  cur- 
tailing their  operations,  and  a  number  of  new  men, 
most  of  whom  made  their  start  before  1890,  took 
their  places.  Bell  Bros.,  H.  A.  Rohrs,  Garfield  & 
Rudolph  C.  Green,  John  Yost  &  Son  and  G.  C.  Steiner 
were  the  most  prominent  new  breeders.  E.  J.  Condit 
and  S.  Kendeigh  were  the  only  old  breeders  to  hold 
rank  with  Jones  Bros,  among  the  leaders. 

Pleasant  Valley  Farm. — Small  in  numbers  as  Jones 
Bros.'  Pleasant  Valley  stud  was,  never  comprising 
more  than  10  mares  of  producing  age,  it  held  the 
lead  in  the  state  in  numbers  and  in  class  of  horses 
produced.  The  stock,  as  previously  shown,  was  all 
descended  from  one  foundation  mare  of  the  right 
Mnd   and   the   sires  were   good.     Grelucjiet   11333 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  369 

« 

(21165),  already  considered,  remained  in  use  till 
1898,  when  he  was  sold  to  John  Yost  &  Son,  Thorn- 
ville,  0.  He  was  a  very  prepotent  sire  and  his  colts 
possessed  real  draft  qualities.  Yost  had  bred  mares 
to  him  for  some  time  before  purchasing,  and  his 
colts  were  so  good  that  C.  M.  Jones  later  sent  a 
number  of  mares  to  be  bred  to  him. 

The  most  valuable  sire  used  in  Ohio  during  this 
period,  however,  was  Moreri  16950  (40246).  He  was 
the  first-prize  yearling  at  the  Columbian  Exposition 
in  1893  and  was  bought  that  fall  by  C.  M.  Jones.  He 
was  used  in  1894,  '95  and  '96  at  Pleasant  Valley,  and 
then  was  sold  to  a  company  at  Marion,  0.,  in  which 
Wesley  King  was  a  leader.  Here  he  remained  in 
service  until  his  death.  Moreri  was  black  with  a 
star,  stood  about  17  hands  high  and  in  show  condi- 
tion weighed  over  2,200  pounds,  or  about  a  ton  in 
breeding  condition.  He  had  an  excellent  head,  a 
clean-cut,  well-poised  neck,  deep  chest,  and  strong 
back  and  loin.  His  well-proportioned  croup  was  a 
trifle  high,  and  he  showed  heavily  muscled  hind- 
quarters. He  was  a  very  massive,  bold-appearing, 
stylish  horse,  with  a  perfect  set  of  feet  and  legs  and 
the  best  of  quality.  His  colts  were  characterized  by 
good  Percheron  type,  and  were  sound  and  clean. 
His  daughters  stand  second  to  none  in  the  estimation 
of  Ohio  breeders,  and  there  is  no  question  but  that 
he  did  the  breed  more  good  than  any  other  horse 
used  in  Ohio  during  his  time.  Moreri 's  greatest  son 
was  Mark  20288,  out  of  the  mare  Noraia  1779,  a 
daughter  of  Ajax  5.     Mark  was  a  massive,  power- 


370  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

fully  built  gray,  standing  over  17  hands  liigli,  with 
the  style  and  action  typical  of  his  sire.  He  was 
used  for  several  years  by  Mr.  Jones,  and  while  but 
few  purebred  mares  were  available,  he  sired  more 
market-topping  geldings  than  any  sire  ever  used  in 
that  vicinity.  Four  of  the  crack  gray  geldings  that 
drew  leather  in  the  gray  show  teams  of  Packingtown 
were  by  Mark,  and  while  none  achieved  champion- 
ship honors,  they  gave  a  good  account  of  them- 
selves. One  of  these  geldings  was  out  of  a  daughter 
of  Ajax  5,  and  one  out  of  a  daughter  of  Greluchet, 
so  that  Mark 's  pathway  was  made  easier  by  the  work 
of  his  predecessors. 

Kuth  20284,  later  the  dam  of  a  ton  horse  of  great 
character  used  for  several  years  at  the  head  of  C.  F. 
Camp's  stud,  was  another  of  Moreri's  daughters,  and 
Estella  21479,  later  a  sho wring  winner  for  John  Yost 
&  Son,  was  still  another.  Besides  these,  however, 
there  were  dozens  of  his  daughters,  both  purebred 
and  grade,  that  did  splendid  service  in  raising  the 
draft  horse  standard  in  central  Ohio. 

It  was  not  an  easy  matter  for  a  small  breeder  to 
pull  through  the  hard  times.  C.  M.  Jones  in  com- 
menting on  this  says: 

*^I  was  often  discouraged  and  almost  ready  to 
quit,  but  I  always  had  faith  that  the  tide  would  turn. 
Mark  W.  Dunham  was  to  me,  as  to  others,  a  steady 
support.  He  counselled  me,  even  in  the  darkest  days, 
to  hold  on  to  all  my  good  mares  and  buy  more  if  I 
could.  I  would  not  have  sold  Moreri  had  times  been 
better,  but  $2,600  for  him  in  1896  meant  more  to  me 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROPOUND   DEPRESSION  371 

than  $10,000  would  now  and  I  let  liim  go  in  order 
to  hold  all  my  good  brood  mares.  The  tide  did  turn 
at  last,  and  my  Percherons  have  paid  well,  as  they 
will  pay  any  other  man  who  sticks  to  the  best. ' ' 

Other  Ohio  Breeders. — Mention  has  already  been 
made  of  E.  J.  Condit,  of  Delaware  Co.,  0.  He  too 
hung  on  through  the  depression  and  raised  from  3 
to  5  colts  per  year,  a  total  of  39  in  the  decade.  His 
Percherons  possessed  the  requisite  weight,  were  of  a 
good  type,  and  were  utilized  by  various  successful 
breeders.  Some  subsequent  owners,  who  frankly 
admit  they  have  made  good  profit  in  Percherons 
descended  from  the  Condit  stud,  state  that  the  horses 
were  not  on  the  whole  as  sound  and  clean  as  they 
should  have  been.  Despite  this,  considerable  good 
was  accomplished  by  this  stud. 

Bell  Bros.,  Wooster,  O.,  had  been  importing  and 
breeding  Shires  up  to  1890.  They  engaged  in  the 
Percheron  business  in  1893  and  have  been  in  it  ever 
since. 

H.  A.  Rohrs  of  Napoleon,  0.,  made  his  start  in 
1886  by  importing  a  mare  and  a  stallion.  He  had 
previously  visited  Oaklawn  Farm,  but  could  not 
agree  on  prices,  so  imported  direct.  The  stallion 
Sapeur  6327  (4484)  was  of  medium  size,  but  well- 
proportioned  and  proved  exceptionally  prepotent  as 
a  sire.  The  mare,  Charlotte  12321  (18182),  was  much 
of  the  same  t^qoe,  and  proved  a  valuable  producer. 
In  1889  Mr.  Rohrs  imported  Monarque  12315 
(12402),  a  son  of  La  Ferte  5144  (452),  and  some 
mares,  so  that  he  was  well  established  at  the  time 


372  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  :PERCHER0N  HORSE 

of  the  depression.  He  held  out,  and  had  the  nerve 
to  ship  some  of  his  mares  away  to  be  bred  to  Fenelon 
2682  (38)  in  1893.  The  colts  produced  justified  his 
judgment.  He  later  shipped  mares  to  Theudis  25015 
(40871)  and  Carnot  66666  (66666)  with  satisfactory 
results.  Such  work  stamps  Mr.  Rohrs  as  a  construc- 
tive breeder.  His  operations  were  small,  he  did  not 
show  or  advertise  largely,  and  most  of  his  horses 
were  sold  for  use  on  grade  mares,  but  his  contribu- 
tion to  Percheron  breeding  in  Ohio  was  material  in 
its  stabilizing  effects  during  the  panic  and  is  worthy 
of  emulation  by  other  small  breeders. 

Ohio's  breeders,  other  than  those  mentioned,  were 
for  the  most  part  farmers  who  owned  but  a  few 
Percheron  mares.  They  were  too  frequently  handi- 
capped by  not  having  access  to  a  high-class  sire,  and 
few  had  the  courage  to  ship  their  mares  away  during 
the  period  of  low  prices.  The  real  advancement 
made  during  this  time  was  therefore  slight. 

In  Minnesota. — Minnesota  dropped  to  fourth  place 
in  number  of  breeders  by  1900,  but  held  her  former 
place,  third,  in  number  of  Percherons  bred  and 
raised.  The  number  of  breeders  increased  from  30 
in  1890  to  124  in  1900.  This  was  a  greater  propor- 
tional gain  in  numbers  than  was  made  in  either 
Illinois  or  Iowa.  A  total  of  691  Percherons  are  of 
record  as  bred  in  Minnesota  during  this  period. 

The  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co.,  L.  C.  Hodg- 
son, J.  Koester  and  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  De  Lancey  were 
the  leaders  who  survived  the  hard  times.  Leonard 
Johnson   and   George   E.   Case,   whose   studs  were 


A  PERIOD   OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION  373 

among  the  best  in  the  '80 's,  were  forced  to  sell,  and 
their  stock  was  widely  scattered.  Many  of  the  good 
animals  from  these  studs  went  to  men  who  knew 
nothing  about  Percherons  and  were  virtually  lost  to 
the  breed.  Some  of  Leonard  Johnson's  best  horses, 
however,  went  to  the  Upson  Farming  Co.,  and  later 
did  considerable  good  for  the  breed.  The  William 
Mies  stud  passed  into  the  hands  of  his  sons,  under 
the  name  of  William  Mies  &  Sons,  about  1894,  and 
they  continued  the  business  for  a  short  time,  but 
closed  out  before  prices  recovered.  Willard  &  Fuller 
was  a  strong  firm  and  had  the  only  prominent  Per- 
clieron  stud  established  in  Minnesota  during  the 
depression. 

The  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co.  had  by  far  the 
most  important  stud  in  the  state  during  this  period. 
One  hundred  and  five  Percherons  are  of  record  as 
raised  by  this  firm  during  the  time  considered  and 
the  stud  ranked  first  in  Minnesota  and  eleventh  in 
the  United  States  at  this  time.  Niger  4986  (2951), 
already  described,  continued  at  the  head  of  the  stud 
up  to  and  including  the  season  of  1895.  His  colts, 
like  those  of  his  illustrious  grandsire  Picador  1st 
(7330),  were  large,  stylish  and  good  in  the  under- 
pinning. They  were  sound  and  clean  for  the  most 
part,  and  demonstrated  the  value  of  the  Picador 
blood,  noted  for  these  characteristics.  Fier-a-Bras 
15746  (13555)  was  put  into  ser^dce  in  1894  and 
proved  valuable,  especially  on  the  daughters  of 
Niger.  Fier-a-Bras  was  a  black  son  of  Briard  5317 
(1630),  and  was  a  large,  massive  stallion  of  good  pro- 


374  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

portions.  He  was  first  in  aged  class  at  the  Colum- 
bian Exposition  in  1893  for  Oaklawn  Farm,  from 
which  he  was  purchased.  He  continued  in  service 
throughout  this  period  and  eventually  succeeded 
Niger  as  the  head  of  the  stud.  The  use  of  these  good 
sires,  with  others  almost  as  good,  but  less  important, 
gave  the  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co.  some  very 
good  Percherons,  and  it  is  much  to  be  regretted  that 
the  stud  was  dispersed  about  the  beginning  of 
the  century.  The  Paynes,  Avho  controlled  this  great 
stud,  had  other  business  interests  which  finally  led 
them  to  close  out  their  Percherons,  but  the  Percheron 
breeders  of  the  northwest  owe  them  a  substantial 
debt  for  their  steadiness  and  constructive  work  dur- 
ing a  most  discouraging  period. 

L.  C.  Hodgson  was  another  who  began  in  the  '80  's 
and  held  on  throughout  all  the  lean  years.  He  was 
originally  from  Ottawa,  111.,  a  cousin  of  the  Dillons, 
and  bought  his  foundation  stock  of  3  mares  from 
Adolphus  Dillon  in  1884.  He  removed  to  Minnesota 
in  1886,  taking  his  Percherons  and  adding  more  from 
time  to  time.  The  business  subsequently  passed  to 
the  sons,  now  Hodgson  Bros.,  of  St.  Cloud,  Minn., 
so  that  this  stud  has  been  carried  on  through  two 
generations.  Sonora  1636  and  Marie  Keet  1608,  two 
of  Mr.  Hodgson's  foundation  mares,  were  probably 
the  most  profitable  he  ever  OAvned.  Both  were  reg- 
ular producers  of  good  stock.  Marie  Keet  produced 
Norman  Chief  12516,  foaled  in  1884,  to  the  service 
of  French  Victor  6088  (6125),  then  at  the  head  of  E. 
Hodfirson's  stud  at  Ottawa.     Norman  Chief  was  a 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         375 

high-class  horse,  both  individually  and  as  a  sire.  He 
won  first  in  the  aged  stallion  class  at  the  Minnesota 
State  Fair  and  was  made  champion  over  some  im- 
ported horses  that  had  won  blue  ribbons  in  many  a 
hard-fought  showring.  His  only  defeat  came  when  he 
encountered  Gilbert  and  3  of  his  get  in  the  class  for 
get-of-sire.  Norman  Chief  was  a  black,  standing 
about  17  hands  high  and  weighing  1,950  pounds  in 
good  condition.  He  was  a  well-balanced,  active 
horse,  and  proved  very  prepotent  as  a  sire.  He  was 
sold  about  1894  for  $2,000  to  South  Dakota.  The 
price  speaks  volumes  for  his  merit,  when  his  age 
and  the  low  price  of  horses  is  considered.  Victor  2d 
12780,  sired  by  Norman  Chief  out  of  Sonora  1636, 
was  another  good  sire  used,  and  Richelieu  21567, 
bred  by  M.  C.  Hodgson  and  used  a  little  later,  left  a 
notable  impress  on  the  horses  of  Eock  county. 
"While  Mr.  Hodgson  did  not  breed  many  Percherons, 
they  were  above  the  average  in  merit  and  the  stud 
has  been  a  valuable  one  in  the  northwest. 

J.  &  D.  Koester,  Northfield  Minn.,  was  another  of 
the  smaller  firms  which  held  on  to  Percherons 
through  dark  days.  They  did  not  breed  many,  but 
their  success  in  the  showring  attests  the  fact  that 
they  had  some  good  ones.  The  Koester s  made  sub- 
stantial Avinnings  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  in 
1896,  '97  and  '98,  defeating  such  exhibitors  as  the  De 
Lanceys  and  Willard  &  Fuller  in  some  classes.  The 
influence  of  this  stud  was  valuable  because  of  the 
good  quality  of  the  horses  owned. 

Belleview  Farm. — T.  L.  &  J.  L.  De  Lancey,  whose 


376  A  HISTORY  OP  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

earlier  operations  have  been  discussed,  kept  on 
through  the  depression  and  were  persistent  exhib- 
itors at  their  state  fair  during  the  '90 's.  They  did 
not  breed  many  Percherons,  but  unlike  most  men 
who  were  active  dealers,  did  give  careful  attention 
to  constructive  breeding.  They  held  their  best  mares 
and  selected  their  stud  stallions  with  care.  Their  re- 
sult was  colts  that  made  good  in  the  showring  and 
the  stud. 

The  most  valuable  brood  mare  was  probably  Char- 
mante  10931  (20451).  She  was  imported  in  1889  by 
the  De  Lanceys,  and  raised  9  colts  in  the  11  years 
1891  to  1901  inclusive.  Seven  of  these  were  produced 
in  consecutive  years.  Her  colts  were  uniformly 
good,  though  she  was  bred  to  4  different  stallions. 
All  5  of  her  stallion  colts  went  to  head  purebred 
studs  and  3  of  them  left  numerous  purebred  colts. 
Klondike  21633  was  sold  to  H.  N.  Lightley  in  1899 
and  remained  at  the  head  of  that  stud  for  about  10 
years;  Titus  2d  21634  was  sold  to  H.  A.  Briggs  in 
1898,  who  sold  him  to  head  the  purebred  stud  of 
W.  H.  Miller  at  Alpena,  S.  D.  Spuller  2d  23607 
sired  some  purebred  colts  in  the  Uehling  &  Golder 
stud  at  Oakland,  Neb.  All  these  sons  of  Char- 
mante  were  show  horses  and  all  weighed  more 
than  a  ton.  Charmante  herself  was  a  show  mare, 
having  won  second  at  the  Societe  Hippique  Per- 
cheronne  de  France  show  in  1889,  and  was  repeat- 
edly a  winner  at  leading  shows  in  America,  even 
when  laboring  under  the  disadvantage  of  nursing 
foals.     She  was  champion  mare  at  the  Minnesota 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         377 

State  Fair  in  1890  and  was  again  made  champion  in 
1898  after  raising  7  colts  in  the  intervening  time. 
Her  daughters  were  good  also,  and  one,  Charlotte 
21635,  won  second  as  a  two-year-old  at  the  state  fair. 
Charlotte  went  to  the  Jean  DuLutli  Co.,  and  did 
much  toward  building  up  that  stud.  Milena  21636, 
another  daughter  of  Channante,  was  also  a  show- 
yard  winner  and  was  sold  by  the  De  Lanceys  to 
Charles  B.  Crandall,  Eandolph,  Minn.,  in  1898. 
Milena  was  really  owned  for  a  time  by  Crandall  Bros. 
They  bred  her  to  Spuller  17123  (20848)  and  to  this 
service  she  foaled  in  1900  the  stallion  Titian  25925, 
used  for  a  number  of  years  at  the  head  of  the 
Crandall  &  Danforth  stud  at  Randolph,  Minn. 

The  chief  sires  used  by  the  De  Lanceys  during  this 
time  were  Pluton  10921  (15387),  Sophocle  13575 
(20845),  Titus  17122  (36778)  and  Lyceen  21630 
(42509).  Lyceen  is  considered  to  have  done  them 
the  most  good,  and  his  stock,  sired  in  France  and 
America,  has  been  on  the  average  of  superior  type 
and  quality.  Lyceen  was  sold  to  G.  W.  Patterson 
and  later  went  to  Jean  DuLutli  Farm.  Lyceen  was 
bought  by  the  DeLanceys  from  Ernest  Perriot,  Sr., 
and  was  of  Brilliant  breeding.  Titus  was  one  of  the 
best  sires  used  and  was  a  big,  rugged,  heavy-boned 
horse,  weighing  more  than  2,200  pounds.  He  did  not 
remain  long  in  the  Belleview  Farm  stud  however; 
James  M.  Fletcher  bought  him  about  1896  or  '97 
and  sold  him  to  Wyatt  Stanley,  Stronghurst,  111. 
Here  he  sired  some  very  good  colts,  including  a  num- 
ber of  purebreds. 


378  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Although  the  number  of  horses  bred  by  the  De 
Lanceys  was  small,  their  influence  in  Minnesota  was 
considerable;  they  were  active  in  the  showring  and 
good  advertisers,  even  in  the  hard  times.  Their 
horses  were  of  superior  merit,  especially  good  in 
the  underpinning.  Sales  were  made  from  this  stud 
to  Geo.  W.  Patterson,  Crandall  &  Danforth,  H.  N. 
Lightley,  and  the  Jean  Du  Luth  stud,  as  well  as  to 
numerous  smaller  breeders,  so  that  a  considerable 
proportion  of  Minnesota  studs  of  the  present  day 
are  founded  wholly  or  in  part  on  purchases  made  at 
Belleview  Farm. 

Willard  &  Fuller. — As  has  already  been  stated, 
the  number  of  breeders  in  Minnesota  increased  more 
than  four  fold  between  1890  and  1900.  Most  of  the 
new  men  did  not  start  till  about  1897  or  1898  and 
many  did  not  purchase  until  later.  The  only  new 
Minnesota  stud  of  any  consequence  established  dur- 
ing the  depression  was  that  of  Willard  &  Fuller  at 
Mapleton.  This  stud  was  really  started  in  1890, 
when  the  old  show  horse  and  sire  Dagobert  5151 
(2431)  was  purchased,  together  with  a  few  mares. 
Two  more  stallions  were  bought  in  1893,  and  10 
mares  were  leased  the  same  year.  All  foundation 
animals  were  obtained  from  Mark  W.  Dunham. 
Dagobert  was  the  best  sire  ever  used,  but  ISToir  Coco 
13163  (20768)  also  got  some  drafty  colts.  Willard 
&  Fuller  placed  great  emphasis  on  size  and  massive- 
ness  and  their  horses  were  all  of  this  stamp. 

Mr.  E.  E.  Fuller,  a  member  of  the  old  firm,  is  now 
located  at  Eedwood  Falls  Minn.,  and  still  breeds 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION  379 

Perclierons,  but  on  a  less  extensive  scale.  He  reports 
that  Coquette  4366  (5310)  was  the  most  valuable 
mare  Willard  &  Fuller  ever  owned,  as  she  was  very- 
typical,  weighing  over  a  ton,  and  her  descendants, 
even  to  the  fifth  generation,  have  all  developed,  or 
give  promise  of  developing,  into  ton  horses  or  better 
of  the  right  type.  Some  of  the  best  mares  ever 
owned  at  Oaklawn  were  held  by  this  firm  on  lease 
and  some  of  them  were  later  purchased.  As  a  whole 
this  firm  contributed  materially  to  the  development 
of  Percheron  interests  in  the  northwest.  Willard  & 
Fuller  bred  big,  rugged  drafters  of  good  tjY)e  and 
soundness,  and  through  the  distribution  of  such 
stock  made  it  possible  for  farmers  to  improve  the 
general  average  of  their  horses. 

In  Wisconsin. — Wisconsin  made  substantial  gains 
during  the  hard  times,  the  number  of  Percheron 
breeders  increasing  from  23  in  1890  to  83  in  1900. 
In  number  of  colts  raised  and  recorded  the  state 
stood  fourth,  with  602  Perclierons  for  this  period. 
The  chief  breeders  were  substantially  the  same  as  in 
the  '80 's.  Fred  Pabst,  H.  A.  Briggs,  H.  A.  Babcock, 
G.  N.  Mihills  and  Peter  Truax  all  held  on  to  their 
good  stock  despite  discouragements.  E.  B.  Kellogg 's 
death  broke  the  well-laid  plans  for  his  stud,  and 
while  the  business  was  carried  on  for  some  years  by 
the  estate,  constructive  work  could  not  be  looked 
for.  Some  of  the  animals  were  sold  to  E.  Stetson 
and  others,  but  H.  F.  Hagemeister  obtained  most 
of  the  Percherons  and  the  great  sire  Baccarat  about 
1896  or  '97,  so  that  the  stud  was  continued  without 


380  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

material  changes.  All  these  breeders  had  faith  in 
the  ultimate  outcome  and  possessed  the  means  to 
carry  their  studs  through  the  hard  times.  Consid- 
erable advertising  and  showing  was  done,  even  in 
the  worst  years,  especially  by  Briggs  and  Pabst.  The 
horse-breeding  interests  of  Wisconsin  were  material- 
ly conserved  by  the  stability  and  confidence  of  her 
leading  breeders.  Progress  in  building  up  a  better 
average  class  of  horses  in  the  state  was  greatly  facil- 
itated by  the  distribution  of  good  stock  horses,  which 
persisted,  though  at  low  prices,  throughout  this 
entire  period  from  all  her  Percheron  studs.  As  a 
consequence  Wisconsin  farmers  were  in  a  sound  posi- 
tion when  prices  did  turn  for  the  better  and  had  a 
keen  appreciation  of  the  value  of  Percheron  sires. 
So  marked  was  this,  that  in  1914  more  than  74  per- 
cent of  all  the  purebred  draft  stallions  in  the  state 
were  Percherons — eloquent  testimony  to  the  sound 
foundation  laid  by  the  early  breeders  of  the  state. 
In  Kansas. — Kansas  advanced  from  20  breeders  in 
1890  to  72  breeders  in  1900,  and  stood  sixth  in  num- 
ber of  Percherons  raised  and  recorded  during  this 
period,  with  a  total  of  383  head.  Henry  Avery  and 
his  partnership  firm  of  Avery  &  Coleman  and  0.  L. 
Thisler  were  again  the  leaders.  M.  D.  Covell,  J. 
Fuhrman,  Thomas  McGee,  C.  Spohr  and  S.  C.  Bart- 
lett  were  others  whose  studs  were  founded  in  the 
'80 's  and  who  had  the  confidence  and  courage  to 
hold  to  their  Percherons  through  hard  times.  Hanna 
&  Co.,  with  stock  from  the  long-established  stud  of 
George  Hanna  in  Illinois,  began  making  Kansas  Per- 


A.  p.  Nave     ^X^     D.Auastin     '. 


A  PERIOD  OF  PROFOUND  DEPRESSION         381 

cheron  history  in  1895.  Wyatt  Stanley,  one  of  the 
best  Percheron  breeders  from  Stronghurst,  IlL,  was 
another  addition  about  the  same  time.  Both  these 
studs  had  good  stock  and  were  controlled  by  men  of 
experience,  so  that  the  state  was  a  material  gainer 
by  their  operations. 

The  great  handicap  to  draft  horse  breeding  in 
Kansas  during  this  period  Avas  lack  of  feed.  Dry 
years  predominated.  Pastures,  never  too  abundant, 
were  burned  brown,  and  were  in  far  too  many  in- 
stances overstocked.  Crops  were  short,  grain  cheap, 
and  money  hard  to  raise.  What  grain  was  produced 
had  to  be  sold  to  enal)le  the  farmer  to  live,  and  the 
horses  were  forced  to  rely  almost  wholly  on  the  none 
too  abundant  jDasturage.  As  a  result  the  Percherons 
produced  during  this  period  were  almost  all  lacking 
in  size,  as  must  inevitably  be  the  case  under  such 
conditions.  Lack  of  interest  in  horse-breeding  in  the 
state  and  in  states  still  farther  west,  which  were  the 
natural  outlets  for  the  Kansas  Percheron  breeders, 
made  it  difficult  to  sell  good  horses  and  prices  were 
exceedingly  low.  Even  the  veteran  Henry  Avery 
told  J.  C.  Eobison,  who  went  to  him  in  1897  to  buy 
the  first  Percheron  mares  for  Whitewater  Falls 
Stock  Farm,  that  he  could  take  one  or  all  of  the 
Percheron  mares  he  owned  at  $100  a  head.  In  this 
bunch  were  mares  of  splendid  individuality  and 
breeding,  though  all  were  lacking  in  size.  Among 
the  mares  were  half  a  dozen  or  more  daughters  of 
Brilliant  3d,  now  recognized  as  the  leading  sire  of 
the  breed;  and  yet  they  were  for  sale  at  $100  apiece. 


382  A  HISTORY   OF   THE  PERCHERON   HORSE 

Mr.  Robison  bought  one,  and  one  only,  and  has  often 
since  deeply  regretted  his  own  lack  of  foresiglit. 

M.  D.  Covell  was  in  reality  the  oldest  Percheron 
breeder  in  Kansas;  he  made  his  first  importation  of 
Percherons  in  1871,  while  located  in  Ohio.  His  first 
Kansas-bred  Percherons  were  not  foaled  until  1884, 
and  from  that  time  on  the  stud  was  very  influential 
in  southern  Kansas.  C.  L.  Covell  took  control  when 
M.  D.  dropped  out  in  1893,  and  the  stud  was  carried 
on  by  him  until  after  the  close  of  the  century.  The 
horses  in  this  stud  were  good,  and  they  formed  the 
foundation,  wholly  or  in  part,  of  many  of  the  good 
studs  now  in  Kansas. 

J.  W.  &  J.  C.  Robison  were  the  most  prominent 
new  breeders  who  established  Percheron  studs  in 
Kansas  during  the  years  of  depression.  J.  W.,  the 
father,  moved  from  Illinois  to  Kansas  in  1874,  and 
took  good  grade  Percheron  mares  with  him.  His 
first  sire,  Norval  1369  (794),  was  bought  of  Gr.  L. 
Cushman  in  1883,  and  he  used  Percheron  sires  con- 
tinually from  that  time  on.  His  grade  mares  by 
successive  crosses  were  bred  up  to  splendid  type  and 
size,  and  many  of  them  were  subsequently  recorded 
as  French  Draft  under  the  top-cross  rules.  J.  W. 
Robison  was  a  horseman  reared  in  the  heart  of  the 
Percheron  district  in  Illinois,  and  he  foresaw  the 
inevitable  recovery  in  horse  values  at  a  time  when 
prices  were  lowest.  Percheron  mares  were  accord- 
ingly bought  in  1897,  '98  and  '99,  and  from  that  time 
on  until  they  were  numerous  enough  to  justify  re- 
liance upon  mares  of  his  own  breeding.     The  son, 


A  PERIOD   OF   PROFOUND   DEPRESSION  383 

J.  C,  was  taken  in  at  the  outset  and  lias  continued 
the  business  since  the  death  of  the  father. 

There  were  numerous  other  breeders  in  the  Sun- 
flower State  who  began  about  the  same  time  and 
who  have  bred  good  stock.  Many  quit  just  a  little 
too  soon  to  reap  the  harvest  of  their  labors,  but  their 
work  has  benefitted  the  breed  in  the  hands  of  later 
breeders.  A  notable  instance  is  that  of  S.  W.  Mc- 
Millan, Topeka,  Kans.,  who  had  a  few  very  select 
mares  bought  from  the  Ellwood  stud.  He  lost  heart 
and  sold  6  of  them  to  J.  W.  &  J.  C.  Robison  in  1900 
for  a  small  sum.  In  this  group  was  the  mare  Fine 
13085  (26998),  considered  to  have  been  the  best 
brood  mare  ever  owned  at  Whitewater  Falls,  and  her 
foal  Zaza.  Zaza  was  afterAvards  first  at  the  St.  Louis 
exposition  in  1904  and  sold  to  E.  B.  White  for  $1,000, 
who  considers  her  the  greatest  brood  mare  he  has 
ever  owned;  in  1914  Mr.  White  had  sold  nearly 
$10,000  worth  of  her  descendants  and  had  all  but  2 
of  her  female  descendants  left.  Yet  this  mare  Zaza, 
now  one  of  the  greatest  living  brood  mares,  was  bred 
by  an  obscure  Kansas  breeder  who  knew  and  loved 
good  Percherons,  but  who  lost  courage  when  victor)^ 
was  within  his  grasp. 

There  were  many  otlier  instances  of  like  character 
in  Kansas,  and  in  other  states.  Such  cases  were 
unusually  frequent  in  the  Sunflower  State,  however, 
for  the  reason  that  good  horses  of  good  breeding 
had  been  taken  there  and  widely  distributed,  but  so 
decreased  in  size  by  unfavorable  environment  that 
their  real  value  was  lost  to  si^^ht  for  a  time.     The 


884  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

breeders  of  the  state  have  eome  back,  however,  in  a 
remarkable  manner,  and  the  work  done  by  the  men 
who  held  on  during  trying  times  has  aided  beyond 
calculation  in  raising  the  general  average  merit  of 
horses  bred  in  the  state. 


CHAPTER  XII. 
THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY. 

The  extreme  depression  in  business  wliicli  had 
prevailed  during  the  '90 's  had  shown  considerable 
amelioration  prior  to  1901.  Business  conditions  in 
general  showed  much  improvement  during  the  first 
few  years  of  the  twentieth  century. 

The  period  from  1901  to  1910  inclusive  was 
fraught  with  momentous  changes  for  Percheron  in- 
terests. The  commercial  demand  for  horses  of  all 
kinds,  particularly  draft  horses,  steadily  grew. 
With  the  exception  of  the  year  1908,  when  some  de- 
pression in  values  occurred  as  the  aftermath  of  the 
panic  in  the  fall  of  1907,  prices  advanced  year  by 
year  until  1910.  Values  were  at  pre-panic  levels  in 
1909  and  made  further  advance  in  1910. 

The  purchase  of  horses  for  export  contributed  to 
some  extent  to  the  rise  in  prices,  particularly  in 
1901,  1902  and  1903.  The  British  were  heavy  buyers 
on  account  of  the  Boer  War,  and  after  the  war  had 
closed  made  extensive  purchases  of  horses  and  mules 
in  the  United  States  to  restock  the  fanns  of  South 
Africa.  The  exports  amounted  to  82,250  head  in 
1901,  valued  at  $8,873,845,  and  in  1902  103,020  head, 
valued  at  $10,048,046  were  taken.  The  purchase  of 
these  horses  on  foreign  account  had  an  effect  upon 

385 


386  A    HISTORY    OP    THE    PERCHERON    HORSE 

horse-breeding  in  the  United  States  that  was  mncli 
more  far-reaching  than  the  figures  would  seem  to 
indicate.  The  wide  publicity  attending  the  inspec- 
tions focused  attention  on  the  fact  that  there  was 
a  shortage  of  horses  abroad  and  that  the  United 
States  was  the  best  place  in  which  to  make  pur- 
chases. Confidence  in  horse-breeding  was  gradually 
regained,  and  the  steadily  increasing  demand  for 
commercial  horses  and  the  increased  prices  which 
users  of  draft  horses  were  willing  to  pay  served  to 
strengthen  it.  Wyoming  bronchos  that  had  sold  for 
$5  or  $10  a  head  during  the  '90 's  brought  $55  in 
1902  for  shipment  to  South  Africa. 

The  opening  decade  of  the  new  century  saw  an 
advance  in  prices  paid  for  farm  products  of  all 
kinds.  Farmers  began  to  bestir  themselves  to  an 
appreciation  of  the  increased  yields  resulting  from 
more  thorough  tillage  of  their  lands.  Improvements 
in  agricultural  machinery  made  it  possible  for  one 
man  to  do  more  work  on  the  farm;  to  operate  his 
improved  machines  additional  horsepower  was  re- 
quired. The  increase  in  the  number  of  draft  horses 
used  in  farm  work  and  the  increase  in  the  weight 
and  strength  of  these  horses,  were  among  the  more 
marked  developments  of  this  period.  The  Interna- 
tional Live  Stock  Exposition,  founded  in  1900,  had 
fairly  struck  its  stride  by  1902;  its  unequaled  dis- 
plays of  draft  horses  of  all  breeds,  both  in  the  pure- 
bred and  market  classes,  aroused  interest  and  in- 
spired the  leading  farmers  and  horsemen  of  the 
United  States  to  redoubled  efforts  in  improving  the 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  387 

common  stock.  The  waves  set  in  motion  by  the  In- 
ternational extended  to  the  state  fairs,  which  broad- 
ened their  classifications  and  increased  greatly  their 
exhibits  of  horses. 

All  of  these  factors  combined  to  focus  public  at- 
tention upon  horse  breeding,  particularly  upon  the 
sort  of  breeding  stock  which  would  increase  the  size 
and  weight  of  the  common  class  of  horses.  The 
draft  breeds  all  reaped  increasing  benefit,  the  Per- 
cheron,  already  the  most  widely  distributed,  best 
known  and  most  popular  draft  horse  in  the  United 
States,  to  the  largest  degree. 

The  Actual  Increase. — In  1900  there  were  1,634 
breeders  of  Percherons  in  the  United  States;  by  1910 
the  number  had  increased  to  5,338.  Between  1890 
and  1900  only  8,807  American-bred  Percherons  and 
1,490  imported  Percherons  were  recorded.  Between 
1901  and  1910  inclusive  31,900  American-bred  and 
10,048  imported  Percherons  were  recorded.  In 
round  numbers  there  were  approximately  9,000  Per- 
cheron  mares  available  for  breeding  in  1901.  These 
mares,  their  filly  foals  and  such  females  as  were  im- 
ported during  the  decade  were  responsible  for  the 
31,900  American-bred  animals  recorded  during  this 
period — only  about  3  American-bred  colts  during  the 
10  years  for  each  Percheron  mare.  As  this  is  below 
the  normal  production  it  shows  that  many  mares 
were  not  bred  and  that  many  of  the  colts  which 
were  foaled  were  never  recorded.  Many  were  the 
men,  particularly  the  smaller  breeders,  who  had  so 
lost  faith  in  horse  breeding  by  reason  of  the  long- 


388  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

continued  depression  of  tlie  '90 's  that  they  were 
timid  even  when  prices  began  to  rise  and  they  did 
not  immediately  grasp  the  opportunities  which  lay 
before  them. 

The  actual  experience  of  one  well-known  Percher- 
on  breeder  is  a  case  in  point.  He  attended  a  sale 
of  well-bred  Percherons  in  1900.  The  stud  was  one 
of  the  oldest  in  the  United  States,  the  management 
had  been  good,  and  the  mares  sold  were  excellent. 
Yet  this  breeder,  fearing  the  outcome,  bought  only 
a  few.  For  those  he  did  buy  he  paid  from  $95  to 
$175  each,  and  within  5  years  mares  of  the  same 
breeding  and  quality  brought  5  times  that  price. 
Large  as  was  the  increase  in  the  number  of  Per- 
cherons between  1901  and  1910,  it  was  by  no  means 
so  great  as  it  would  have  been  had  breeders  had  a 
clear  conception  of  the  extent  and  far-reaching 
character  of  the  commercial  demand  for  draft 
horses. 

Pedigree  Publication  Suspended. — The  decade 
beginning  with  the  panic  of  1893  was  characterized, 
as  has  already  been  indicated,  by  a  depression  in 
the  Percheron  importing  and  breeding  industry  so 
profound  and  so  widespread  in  its  operation  that 
the  association  which,  up  to  that  period  had  control 
of  pedigree  registration  in  the  United  States,  w^as 
unable  to  maintain  itself.  Meetings  were  poorly 
attended.  Funds  ran  low.  The  salary  of  the  Sec- 
retary, Mr.  S.  D.  Thompson,  was  in  arrears,  and 
finally  through  a  forced  sale  of  the  assets  of  the 
bankrupt  organization  he  acquired  legal  title  to  the 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  389 

books  and  records.  Mr.  Thompson  maintained  an 
office  where  pedigrees  of  imported  and  home-bred 
horses  could  be  filed  and  certificates  issued,  but  be- 
tween 1898  and  1905  no  stud  book  was  actually 
printed. 

New  Association  Formed. — Interest  in  the  produc- 
tion of  Percherons,  which  had  during  the  dull  years 
of  the  middle  and  later  '90 's  receded  almost  to  the 
vanishing  point,  in  the  meantime  began  to  revive, 
and  on  Dec.  23,  1902,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Chicago 
a  new  organization  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
establishing  upon  a  substantial  footing  and  under 
the  direct  control  of  owners  of  Percheron  horses,  an 
association  which  should  become  responsible  for  the 
further  registration  of  pedigrees,  and  to  promote 
the  general  interest  of  the  breed.  Mr.  H.  A.  Briggs 
of  Elkhorn,  Wis.,  presided,  and  Mr.  George  W. 
Stubblefield  of  Bloomington,  111.,  was  chosen  Secre- 
tRTj.  The  following  were  named  as  Directors  for  a 
term  of  one  year  each:  Messrs.  H.  G.  McMillan, 
then  of  Cedar  Rapids,  la.;  W.  S.  Dunham,  Wayne, 
111.;  J.  L.  DeLancey,  Northfield,  Minn.;  C.  R.  Taylor, 
Williamsville,  111.;  A.  P.  Nave,  Attica,  Ind.;  C.  0. 
Keiser,  Keota,  la.,  and  H.  A.  Briggs.  The  Directors 
met  and  elected  H.  G.  McMillan  President,  H.  A. 
Briggs  Vice-President,  J.  L.  DeLancey  Treasurer  and 
Geo.  W.  Stubblefield  Secretary.  At  a  meeting  held 
at  the  Great  Northern  Hotel,  Chicago,  on  Aug.  8, 
1903,  the  number  of  Directors  was  increased  from 
seven  to  eleven,  and  Messrs.  H.  F.  Hagemeister, 
H.  W.  Avery,  G.  W.  Patterson  and  C.  M.  Jones  were 


o 


90  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSIC 


duly    chosen    to    fill    the    new    directorships    thus 
created. 

Old  Records  Acquired. — At  a  meeting  of  this  or- 
ganization held  in  Chicago,  Dec.  6,  1904,  President 
McMillan  said  in  the  course  of  his  address: 

^'We  are  now  in  possession  of  all  of  the  original 
books  and  records  heretofore  controlled  by  Mr. 
Thompson.  We  are  the  only  association  having  such 
records.  We  have  all  records  and  original  data  in 
the  United  States  pertaining  to  the  pedigrees  of 
Percheron  horses,  including  the  original  applica- 
tions, affidavits  and  correspondence  connected  there- 
with. We  are  the  only  society  in  a  position  to  issue 
accurate  and  complete  pedigrees  and  that  can  pub- 
lish a  stud  book  that  is  full  and  authentic  in  all 
respects.  We  now  own  all  the  records.  The  certifi- 
cates of  pedigrees  issued  by  us  will  be  carefully 
verified  and  can  be  relied  upon  as  truthfully  stating 
the  pedigree  of  the  horse  to  which  it  relates.  We 
propose  to  issue  stud  books  within  the  coming  year 
that  will  be  a  reliable  and  trustworthy  record  of 
pedigrees  issued  up  to  date.  Breeders  and  buyers 
of  Percheron  horses  everywhere  can  then  verify  their 
pedigrees  and  know  when  they  are  being  imposed 
upon. 

''That  the  work  of  our  association  is  appreciated, 
there  can  be  no  doubt.  A  year  ago  we  had  less  than 
one  hundred  members;  today  we  have  315.  By  our 
next  annual  meeting  I  firmly  believe  we  will  have 
over  500  stockholders.  It  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  our  membership  represents  live  members  who 
are  actually  engaged  in  importing  and  breeding 
Percheron  horses  and  who  have  pedigrees  to  record. 
With  our  present  large  list  of  active  breeders  and 
importers  and  being  in  possession  of  all  the  original 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  391 

records  and  data  pertaining  to  Percheron  horses 
our  future  growth  and  success  is  assured  and  I 
prophesy  that  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  will  be 
in  possession  of  the  field  without  serious  opposition 
or  rivalry. ' ' 

A  new  era  of  prosperity  and  pogress  began  with 
the  organization  of  this  powerful  association.  With 
the  exception  of  some  little  opposition  growing  out 
of  the  refusal  of  certain  interests,  headed  by  the 
Messrs.  McLaughlin,  to  co-operate  in  the  w^ork  un- 
dertaken by  the  new  association,  there  was  a  general 
feeling  of  relief  that  the  further  conduct  of  Perche- 
ron registration  in  America  had  now  been  settled  in 
responsible  hands.  The  McLaughlin  faction  organ- 
ized the  Percheron  Eegistry  Association  in  1904,  and 
issued  ^ye  volumes  of  what  was  called  the  Percheron 
Register,  in  which  some  4,800  pedigrees  were  re- 
corded, but  the  inclination  of  breeders  and  importers 
generally  had  been  to  discourage  division  of  energy 
and  effort,  and  by  1911  the  general  association,  now 
known  as  the  Percheron  Society  of  America,  so 
dominated  the  field  that  the  Messrs.  McLaughlin,  in 
the  interest  of  harmony,  gave  up  their  enterprise  and 
became  affiliated  with  what  was  now  really  a  national 
organization,  approved  by  the  United  States  De- 
partment of  Agriculture,  and  commanding  the  re- 
spect and  support  of  an  overwhelming  majority  of 
all  interested  in  Percheron  progress  in  the  L^nited 
States. 

Influence  of  Dealers  and  Importers. — The  dealers 
and  importers  exerted  a  paramount  influence  in  de- 


392  A    HISTORY    OF    THE   PERCHERON    HORSE 

veloping  the  interest  in  Perclierons  during  this  per- 
iod. The  existing  stock  in  the  United  States  was 
badly  scattered,  much  of  it  unrecorded  and  a  great 
deal  of  it  in  the  hands  of  men  who  were  giving  their 
Perclierons  no  particular  attention.  Leading  dealers 
gathered  this  stock  together  and  distributed  it 
through  private  sales  and  public  auctions  into  the 
hands  of  a  large  number  of  new  admirers  of  the 
breed ;  they  also  sold  Percheron  mares  to  many  small 
breeders  who  lacked  the  means  and  acquaintance- 
ship necessary  to  seek  out  and  assemble  them.  In 
many  instances  dealers  bought  fillies  or  young  mares, 
bred  them  to  their  own  stallions  and  sold  them  as 
bred  mares,  thereby  receiving  credit  for  breeding  a 
vastly  larger  number  of  animals  than  they  would 
otherwise  have  had. 

Importers  reaped  an  unprecedented  harvest.  Good 
imported  stallions  were  syndicated  all  over  the 
United  States  and  Canada  on  the  company  plan  at 
prices  ranging  from  $2,000  to  $5,000  each.  These 
prices  were  abnormal,  but  importers  justified  them 
on  the  ground  of  the  heavy  expense  involved  in 
placing  horses  by  this  method  and  on  the  additional 
plea  that  most  of  the  horses  were  sold  on  long-time 
payments.  This  plan  of  selling  horses  did  result 
in  distributing  thousands  of  high-class  stallions 
throughout  the  United  States.  The  larger  portion 
of  these  went  into  communities  where  they  were 
bred  exclusively  to  grade  mares,  so  that  the  Per- 
cheron breed  lost  the  services  of  many  of  the  best 
breeding  stallions  brought  over  during  this  time. 


CALYPSO      25017       (44577),      FIRST-PRIZE      THREE-YEAR-OLD      STALLION      AND 
RESERVE    C5HAMPI0N    AT    THE   INTERNATIONAL   LIVE    STOCK   EXPOSITION 
IN      lyoU.        tolKLU      AlOKE      LMEKAAilUAAL      I'KlZKWiNJNtKS      THAN      ANY 
OTHER    SIRE    USED    IN    AMERICA    BETWEEN    1901    AND    1912. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  39S 

This  loss  was  compensated  in  large  degree  by  tlie 
general  improvement  wrought  npon  the  grade 
horses  of  the  country.  The  progeny  of  these  sires 
proved  so  much  more  valuable  in  farm  work  and 
sold  for  so  much  higher  prices  that  farmers  were 
awakened  to  the  worth  of  Percheron  sires.  This  in- 
creased the  demand  for  Percheron  stallions,  whether 
bred  in  America  or  imported  from  France,  and  led 
many  other  men  to  establish  small  studs  of  Percheron 
mares.  The  work  of  the  importers,  therefore,  re- 
sulted in  a  widespread  and  marked  improvement  in 
the  character  and  value  of  the  common  horses  bred  in 
the  United  States,  and  also  caused  a  general  expan- 
sion in  Percheron  breeding  on  this  side  of  the  water. 

The  large  exhibits  of  Percherons  made  at  the 
leading  fairs  by  importers  and  dealers  also  proved 
a  potent  factor  in  educating  farmers  in  Percheron 
type  and  aided  materially  in  popularizing  the  breed. 

The  Development  by  States. — Illinois,  as  was  to 
be  expected,  showed  the  greatest  increase  in  the 
number  of  breeders  during  this  period,  there  being 
1,476  by  1910.  Iowa  was  second  with  860,  Ohio  third 
with  471,  Kansas  fourth  with  319,  Indiana  fifth  with 
284,  Minnesota  sixth  with  279,  Wisconsin  seventh 
with  269,  Nebraska  eighth  with  229,  South  Dakota 
ninth  with  171,  and  Xorth  Dakota  tenth  with  160 
breeders. 

Illinois,  low^a  and  Ohio,  the  pioneer  states  in  Per- 
cheron breeding,  had  more  than  half  of  the  Percher- 
ons in  the  United  States  by  1910.  Percheron  breed- 
ing  naturally   increased    most    rapidly   where    the 


394  A    HISTORY    OF    THE    PERCHERON    HORSE 

horses  were  already  in  most  general  nse  and  where 
their  value  was  best  known.  It  is  significant,  how- 
ever, of  the  widespread  interest  in  Percherons  to 
note  that  the  breeders  were  scattered  over  41  states 
and  Canada  by  1910. 

In  Illinois. — Oaklawn  maintained  its  position  as 
the  leading  Percheron  breeding  establishment  in  Illi- 
nois during  this  period.  Selling  horses  proved  so 
much  more  profitable  than  breeding  them  that  a 
large  number  of  the  Oaklawn  mares  were  sold  and 
the  breeding  operations  were  materially  curtailed. 
Nevertheless,  162  Percherons  bred  at  Oaklawn  were 
recorded  during  this  period.  Every  effort  was  made 
to  keep  the  best  sires  available  in  service.  Theudis 
25015  (40871),  one  of  the  best-known  sires  in  France, 
was  imported  in  1900  and  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
stud.  He  had  been  for  some  time  the  stud  sire  of 
M.  Tacheau,  the  younger,  at  whose  establishment 
he  had  divided  honors  with  his.  sire  Besigue  (19602). 
Theudis'  get  had  won  high  honors  in  France  and 
many  of  the  best  stallions  imported  in  the  late  '90 's 
and  the  early  years  of  the  new  century  were  sired 
by  him.  His  get  won  first  and  third  at  the  Inter- 
national Live  Stock  Exposition  in  1901,  beating  the 
get  of  Jules  (37987),  another  of  the  well-known 
contemporary  sires  of  the  breed.  Theudis  was  an 
eight-year-old  when  imported.  He  was  one  of  the 
largest  of  the  sons  of  Besigue,  a  stallion  of  great 
substance,  standing  about  17  hands  high,  and  weigh- 
ing approximately  2,200  pounds  in  show  condition; 
he  was  very  deep-bodied,  massive  and  well  propor- 


BESIGUE  (19602),  OAE  OF  THE  GREAT  SlKES  U«ED  IN  FRANCE  BETWEEN 
1893  AND  HIS  DEATH  IN  1904;  VERY  PREPOTENT.  PICTURE  TAKEN 
WHEN  HE  WAS  14  YEARS  OLD.  HE  DIED  ON  WATER  E.N  ROUTE  TO 
AMERICA    IN    1904. 


iMAEE  SUZANNE    (81567)— WINNER   AT  LEADING   FRJiNCJd   SlioWS. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  395 

tioned,  with  excellent  quality,  symmetry,  style  and 
action.  Three  of  Theudis'  sons,  Calypso,  Rahelais 
and  Casino,  subsequently  headed  the  Lakewood, 
Leslie  Farm,  and  the  Whitew^ater  Falls  Farm  studs, 
and  practically  made  the  reputations  of  those  breed- 
ing establishments.  Unfortunately  Theudis  had 
seen  very  heavy  service  in  France  and  w^as  not  a 
sure  getter  after  being  imported.  He  made  but  two 
seasons  at  Oaklawn  and  died  Oct.  1,  1902,  at  10 
years  of  age.  His  failure  to  round  into  breeding 
form  after  importation  was  undoubtedly  a  distinct 
loss  to  the  breed,  as  his  colts  w^ere  high-class  in 
character  and  had  more  size  than  most  of  the  grand- 
sons of  Besigue. 

Invincible  22715  (38109),  a  black  stallion  of  un- 
usual size  and  scale,  was  also  used  at  Oaklawn  for 
a  time.  He  was  bred  from  the  M.  Lefeuvre  stock 
and  weighed  in  breeding  condition  2,200  pounds. 
He  left  a  number  of  colts  of  excellent  type  at  Oak- 
lawn. 

Picador  27370  (48373),  a  winner  of  second  prize 
in  the  aged  class  at  the  International  Live  Stock 
Exposition  in  1901  and  1902,  was  also  used  to  some 
extent.  He  w^as  black,  of  the  Picador  strain  and  was 
an  extremely  deep-bodied,  massive,  powerfully 
muscled  sire.  He  was  so  wide  and  thick  as  to  give 
the  impression  of  being  lowset;  he  stood  almost  17 
hands  high,  however,  and  weighed  2,250  pounds  in 
show  condition.  With  all  his  size,  Picador  possessed 
symmetry  and  style,  but  was  somewhat  deficient  in 
straightness  of  action.    Among  his  progeny  at  Oak- 


396  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

lawn  was  tlie  mare  Britomart  40427,  wliicli  subse- 
quently won  the  championship  at  the  International 
Live  Stock  Exposition  in  1905. 

Picador  was  succeeded  by  Pink  24765  (47513),  a 
grandson  of  Besigue.  Pink  was  the  most  noted  show 
horse  that  ever  headed  the  Oaklawn  stud;  indeed 
he  probably  was  the  most  noted  Percheron  to  grace 
our  showrings  during  the  decade.  He  won  first  place 
as  a  three-year-old  at  the  Iowa  and  Minnesota  State 
Fairs  and  at  the  International  Live  Stock  Exposi- 
tion in  1903,  and  was  the  grand  champion  at  Minne- 
sota and  the  International.  He  was  first  as  an  aged 
stallion  and  champion  at  the  International  in  1904, 
and  stood  second  in  the  aged  classes  at  the  Inter- 
national in  1905  and  1906  despite  heavy  seasons  in 
the  stud.  He  remained  at  the  head  of  the  Oaklawn 
stud  and  in  active  service  from  the  spring  of  1904 
until  1911,  when  he  was  sold  to  R.  W.  Bradshaw  of 
Canada.  Individually  Pink  was  considered  by  many 
good  judges  to  be  well-nigh  perfect  as  a  Percheron 
type.  He  stood  17  hands  high  and  weighed  2,100 
pounds  in  fair  condition.  He  was  very  deep-bodied, 
strong-backed,  well  ribbed  down  in  the  hind  flank, 
and  a  model  in  the  set  of  his  legs  from  front,  side 
and  rear.  His  symmetry  was  faulted  by  a  slight 
droop  in  the  croup,  but  this  was  not  marked,  and 
in  general  proportions,  style  and  finish  he  was  one 
of  the  most  remarkable  horses  of  the  period.  His 
quality  was  extraordinary,  as  his  cannons  and  joints 
were  clean-cut,  his  skin  fine  and  the  bones  of  his 
head  as  clearly  outlined  as  in  any  Thoroughbred. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  397 

Pink's  colts,  as  a  rule,  were  verj  uniform,  early 
maturing  and  exceptionally  good  sellers.  Mr.  Dun- 
liam  states  that  none  of  liis  stallion  colts  had  to 
be  kept  past  2  years  of  age  and  that  very  few  of 
them  sold  for  less  than  $1,000.  They  matured  into 
large,  massive  horses.  Many  of  the  mares  sired 
by  Pink  weighed  more  than  2,000  pounds  in  breed- 
ing condition.  One  of  his  sons.  Pink  Borodino 
57905,  out  of  the  champion  Britomart,  a  daughter 
of  Picador,  w^ent  to  head  the  H.  I.  Messinger  stud, 
where  he  rendered  excellent  account  of  himself.  A 
daughter  of  Pink,  the  mare  Pink  Mirabella  57902, 
out  of  the  champion  mare  Mouvette  30012  (43850), 
was  second  in  the  open  classes  and  champion  Ameri- 
can-bred mare  at  the  1913  International.  Another 
daughter.  Pink  Brillante  57897,  foaled  1908,  raised 
foals  from  1911  to  1915  inclusive.  Her  1916  foal, 
past  2  months  old,  was  accidentally  killed.  The 
mare,  though  thin,  won  the  championship  at  the 
Iowa  State  Fair  and  was  later  champion  Percheron 
female  at  the  1916  International.  Many  of  the  sons 
of  Pink  have  been  used  on  purebred  mares  with 
excellent  results,  and  the  value  of  his  blood  is  now 
adequately  recognized. 

It  is  difficult  to  particularize  as  to  the  females  in 
any  breeding  stud,  but  some  of  the  brood  mares 
owned  at  Oaklawn  during  this  period  are  worthy  of 
special  mention:  Jeanne  D'Arc  17894  (37422)  was 
champion  at  the  International  in  1900.  Linda  12986 
was  champion  in  1901.  Mouvette  was  champion  in 
1903.    Britomart,  the  daughter  of  Picador,  bred  at 


398  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Oaklawn,  was  champion  in  1905.  All  of  these  mares 
were  valuable  breeding  matrons,  as  were  numerous 
others  not  selected  for  showyard  fame. 

Oaklawn  Farm  gave  special  prominence  to  ex- 
hibits of  Percherons  at  the  leading  state  fairs  and 
at  the  International,  being  one  of  the  most  consistent 
and  heaviest  winners  of  prizes  at  the  Internationals 
of  1901,  1902,  1903  and  1904  and  bringing  out  the 
champion  stallion  for  4  successive  years.  A  large 
number  of  the  prizes  and  the  reserve  championship 
in  stallions  were  won  in  1905  and  1906,  while  the 
mare  championships  fell  to  this  stud  in  1901,  1903 
and  1905.  Showing  was  discontinued  in  1907,  1908 
and  1909,  but  the  Oaklawn  entries  were  back  in  the 
ring  in  1910.  The  large  and  well  fitted  exhibits  of 
Percherons  from  Oaklawn  Farm  spurred  others  to 
greater  exertions  and  stimulated  draft  horse  im- 
provement generally.  Extensive  publicity  in  the 
agricultural  journals  supplemented  the  showyard 
advertising. 

John  C.  Baker  was  one  of  the  large  Illinois  breed- 
ers of  this  period.  Hercules  19985  was  his  chief  stud 
stallion.  He  was  a  gray,  foaled  in  1904,  and  was 
out  of  a  daughter  of  Brilliant  1271.  He  was  a  very 
large,  massive  type ;  possibly  he  lacked  a  bit  in  sym- 
metry and  finish,  but  his  colts  were  large,  drafty 
and  good  sellers.  So  good  was  Hercules  that  he 
went  to  the  stud  of  S.  S.  Russell  &  Sons  when  14 
years  of  age.  He  was  also  used  by  Stetson  Bros., 
Neponset,  111.  Mr.  Baker  bred  a  large  number  of 
Percherons,  but  buyers  complained  that  he  was  not 


INTI.ME  87219    (83153).   RESERVE   CHAMPION,    OHIC'AGO    IXTERAATIONAL,    1910. 


PINK    24765    (47513),    CHAMPION    STALLION,    CHICAGO    INTERNATIONAL,    1903-04. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  399 

a  good  caretaker  and  that  his  colts  were  not  so  well 
developed  as  they  should  have  been.  This,  coupled 
with  the  fact  that  Mr.  Baker  did  not  exhibit  at  the 
fairs  to  any  extent,  undoubtedly  lessened  the  in- 
fluence of  his  stud. 

Dan  Augstin  bred  a  total  of  150  Percherons  during 
this  period  and  raised  most  of  them  himself.  They 
were  by  a  number  of  different  sires.  Mr.  Augstin 
was  located  in  a  community  where  there  were  many 
stallions  above  the  average  in  merit,  and  he  mated 
his  brood  mares  with  many  different  horses  besides 
those  owned  by  himself  in  an  attempt  to  obtain  the 
best  results. 

Kellermann  10715  (20594)  was  one  of  the  sires  used 
to  advantage  on  Mr.  Augstin 's  mares,  and  his  son 
Absolom  27014  was  also  of  decided  value.  Keller- 
man  was  a  black,  imported  in  1889  by  W.  L.  Ell- 
wood  and  purchased  shortly  after  by  L.  P.  Stubble- 
field.  He  was  of  Favori  and  Coco  breeding,  a  horse 
of  great  scale  and  substance,  a  bit  on  the  rugged 
type,  weighing  about  2,200  pounds  in  good  condi- 
tion. He  sired  53  purebred  colts  in  the  McLean 
county  district.  A  large  number  of  purebred  colts 
left  by  Kellermann  were  bred  in  the  stud  of  Mr. 
Augstin,  although  Wm.  Hurt  &  Sons,  L.  F.  Stubble- 
field,  several  other  members  of  the  Stubblefield  fam- 
ily, S.  Noble  King,  and  H.  M.  EoUins  had  colts  by 
him — Hurt  and  King  even  more  than  Augstin. 

Absolom  by  Kellermann  was  also  used  by  Dan 
Augstin  and  some  of  the  best  mares  which  he  re- 
tained were  sired  by  this  horse.     Coquette  50404, 


•iOO  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

tlie  most  noted  show  mare  ever  bred  in  the  Augstin 
stud,  was  one  of  Absolom's  daughters;  her  colts 
were  always  of  showyard  character.  One  of  them, 
Roseland  87467,  was  second,  in  the  open  class  at  the 
Illinois  State  Fair  in  1914  and  the  champion  mare 
bred  by  exhibitor. 

Kimberly  25726  (44616),  imported  by  Dunham, 
Fletcher  &  Coleman  in  1901,  was  for  some  time  at 
the  head  of  the  Stubblefield  stud.  He  was  freely 
used  by  Mr.  Augstin,  and  to  good  advantage.  He 
represented  a  most  unusual  and  desirable  combina- 
tion of  bloodlines,  as  he  was  a  son  of  Besigue  and 
had  for  dam  Biche  44501,  a  daughter  of  King  of 
Perclie  4975  (6738).  King  of  Perche  will  be  remem- 
bered as  one  of  the  most  famous  horses  in  the  Ell- 
wood  stud  in  the  '80 's,  and  Besigue  was  the  ranking 
sire  in  France  between  1893  and  his  death  in  1904. 
Kimberly  was  a  large,  powerfully-built,  rugged 
horse,  standing  over  17  hands  high.  He  weighed 
2,560  pounds  at  one  time  when  in  show  condition  and 
in  breeding  flesh  scaled  2,200  pounds.  He  left  35 
purebred  colts,  a  number  of  which  were  in  Mr.  Aug- 
stin's  stud. 

Eoland  42911,  bred  by  C.  W.  Hurt  but  purchased 
in  dam  by  Mr.  Augstin,  was  the  most  valuable  sire 
used  after  1906.  The  horses  produced  in  the  Augstin 
stud  were  of  the  thick,  massive,  drafty  kinds,  in- 
clined to  be  a  little  lowset,  and  of  the  '^Dutchman's 
type,"  but  a  rugged  sort  and  valuable  for  breeding 
purposes.  The  care  and  management  which  Dan 
Augstin  gave  his  horses  was  decidedly  above  the 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  401 

average  and  the  colts  had  an  opportunity  for  full 
development. 

L.  F.  Stubblefield,  McLean,  111.,  did  not  breed 
nearly  so  many  horses  as  many  of  his  contempo- 
raries, but  his  work  was  constructive  in  a  high  de- 
gree. The  sires  Kellemian  and  Kimberly  headed 
this  stud  for  a  time  and  left  a  number  of  excellent 
colts.  Some  of  the  best  mares  retained  in  this  stud 
were  by  those  sires,  and  the  Kellerman  blood  has 
been  particularly  valuable  in  the  production  of  Per- 
cherons  of  showyard  caliber. 

Forfait  Jr.  40974  was  placed  at  the  head  of  the 
Stubblefield  stud  in  the  spring  of  1908  and  was  used 
to  good  advantage.  He  was  not  of  the  largest  type, 
but  stood  16%  hands  high,  and  weighed  a  ton  in 
show  condition.  He  was  very  deep-bodied,  well- 
ribbed,  and  powerfully-built  throughout,  with  an 
unusually  good  set  of  legs,  excellent  feet,  and  rare 
quality.  He  was  fortunate  in  having  an  unusual 
lot  of  mares  in  his  harem,  daughters  of  Kellermann 
and  Kimberly,  and  his  colts  were  uniform  in  stjde 
and  of  superior  character.  A  number  of  them  have 
won  honors  in  the  leading  showrings.  The  mare 
Elsie  94834  was  one  of  the  good  daughters  of  For- 
fait Jr.  She  was  out  of  a  daughter  of  Kellermann 
and  was  good  enough  to  win  fourth  in  the  open 
class  for  two-year-old  mares  at  the  Illinois  State 
Fair  in  1914. 

The  three  sires,  Kelleraiann,  Kimberly,  and  For- 
fait Jr.,  were  responsible  for  the  improvement  in 
Mr.   Stubblefield 's   Percherons  during   the   decade 


402  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

and  marked  progress  was  evidenced  at  each  suc- 
cessive cross.  The  quiet,  persistent  accomplish- 
ments of  this  stud  had  a  telling  effect  upon  breeders 
conversant  with  L.  F.  Stubblefield's  work,  and  the 
influence  of  this  collection  has  undoubtedly  been  far 
greater  than  that  of  many  contemporary  establish- 
ments of  greater  numbers. 

H.  I.  Messenger,  Lockport,  111.,  bred  109  Perche- 
rons  foaled  during  this  decade,  nearly  all  of  which 
were  raised  by  himself.  Morse  22714  (40383),  one 
of  the  good  sons  of  Besigue  was  used  with  success 
and  added  materially  to  the  size  of  the  Messenger 
stock.  Extrador  Jr.  12569  and  Rochefort  29886 
(45787)  were  used  to  some  extent,  and  the  stallion 
Charlemagne  41259  (Hang  52519)  also  did  good  serv- 
ice in  this  stud. 

Pink  Borodino  57905,  a  son  of  Pink  out  of  the 
champion  mare  Britomart,  was  bought  by  Mr.  Mes- 
senger from  Oaklawn  as  a  foal,  and  from  the  time 
he  became  old  enough  was  at  the  head  of  the  stud. 
His  colts  possessed  size,  'good  conformation  and 
soundness.  In  earlier  years  Mr.  Messenger  did  not 
feed  his  colts  liberally  enough  to  permit  of  the  best 
possible  development,  but  they  have  gone  on  well  in 
the  hands  of  new  owners  and  have  rendered  excel- 
lent service.  Mr.  Messenger  did  relatively  little  ex- 
hibiting at  fairs  and  no  advertising  until  after 
1910,  so  that  the  stud  really  exerted  less  influence 
than  the  merits  of  the  animals  justified. 

The  Leslie  Farm  stud  founded  by  A.  L.  Eobison 
&  Sons,  Pekin,  111.,  during  the  period  of  depressed 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  403 

values  in  the  '90 's,  was  another  breeding  establish- 
ment that  exerted  material  influence  upon  Percheron 
development  during  this  period.  Powerful  6670 
(Bayard  7519),  purchased  in  1897,  was  continued 
in  service  until  his  death.  He  was  a  tried  sire  with 
a  wide  reputation  when  he  went  to  head  the  Leslie 
FaiTQ  stud,  and  his  colts  were  large,  well-propor- 
tioned and  good  breeders.  When  the  Powerful  fil- 
lies became  old  enough  to  breed  Mr.  Eobison  cast 
about  to  obtain  another  sire  and  finally  decided 
that  Seducteur  8850  (7057)  was  the  horse  he  wanted. 
Seducteur  had  made  a  great  showyard  record  while 
in  the  hands  of  W.  L.  Ell  wood,  and  after  8  years' 
service,  chiefly  on  grade  mares,  had  passed  into  the 
hands  of  H.  G.  McMillan  at  Lakewood  Farm.  Mr. 
Eobison  went  to  Iowa  in  the  spring  of  1902  deter- 
mined to  buy  the  horse,  although  he  was  then  18 
years  old  and  known  to  be  an  uncertain  breeder. 
After  laboring  all  day  in  an  attempt  to  obtain  a 
price  on  Seducteur  Mr.  Eobison  finally  succeeded  in 
inducing  the  owner  of  the  Lakewood  stud  to  place 
a  figure  on  him.  The  price  was  purposely  placed 
so  high  that  it  was  thought  to  be  prohibitive.  Noth- 
ing daunted  Mr.  Eobison  bought  the  horse  and 
shipped  him  to  Leslie  Farm,  where  he  remained  in 
service  until  his  death  in  1905.  While  he  sired  but 
few  colts,  those  he  did  beget  were  of  superior  char- 
acter, possessing  great  size,  symmetry  and  rugged- 
ness. 

On  the  death  of  both  Powerful  and   Seducteur 
within  a  few  months  of  each  other  in  1905  search 


404  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

had  to  be  made  for  a  new  sire.  The  Robison  policy 
of  obtaining  tried  sires  had  proved  so  successful 
that  it  was  continued.  Every  horse-buyer  of  note 
in  Illinois  was  communicated  with  and  attempts  were 
made  to  locate  stallions  that  already  had  proved 
of  more  than  average  merit  in  improving  horses 
in  the  communities  where  they  had  been  standing. 
After  long  search  and  the  following  of  many  blind 
trails  Eabelais  52564  (43442),  foaled  in  1897  and 
imported  in  1899,  was  located.  He  was  a  son  of 
Theudis,  of  Oaklawn  fame,  and  out  of  Biche  (28196), 
a  daughter  of  Seducteur.  Mr.  Eobison  and  his  son 
Archie  rode  for  3  days  looking  at  the  grade  colts 
which  this  horse  had  sired;  he  had  not  been  used 
on  any  purebred  mares.  At  the  conclusion  of  this 
careful  investigation  it  was  concluded  that  if  Eabe- 
lais would  prove  as  prepotent  on  purebred  mares 
as  he  had  already  proved  on  grade  mares,  he  was 
exactly  what  the  Leslie  Farm  stud  wanted,  and 
as  he  was  of  exceptional  breeding  and  closely  akin 
in  bloodlines  to  the  horses  already  in  the  stud  he 
was  purchased  and  placed  in  service  at  Leslie  Farm 
in  1906.  Eesults  were  all  that  had  been  hoped. 
Eabelais^  colts  were  uniform  in  type,  possessed 
ample  size,  and  were  of  the  deep-bodied,  well-ribbed, 
massive  kind,  heavy  in  bone  and  of  very  drafty 
type.  He  remained  at  the  head  of  the  stud  until 
his  death  in  1914. 

The  use  of  these  3  tried  sires  resulted  in  steady 
improvement  at  Leslie  Farm.  Very  few  studs  made 
more  consistent  progress  in  improving  the  weight, 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  405 

size,  style,  symmetry  and  quality  of  the  Perclierons 
produced.  The  care  and  management  of  the  young 
animals  was  far  above  the  average,  with  the  result 
that  a  large  proportion  of  the  colts  bred  and  raised 
at  Leslie  Farm  were  sold  as  weanlings  and  yearlings 
at  prices  far  in  advance  of  the  usual  figure.  Little 
was  done  in  exhibiting  at  leading  shows  during  this 
period,  but  the  influence  of  the  breeding  operations 
carried  on  at  Leslie  Farm  was  widespread.  Special 
attention  was  given  to  the  encouragement  of  small 
breeders  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  result  was 
the  development  of  a  large  number  of  small  breed- 
ing establishments  founded  on  purchases  made  at 
Leslie  Farm  and  the  general  improvement  of  all 
horses  within  the  Tazewell  district. 

Numerous  other  breeders  have  contributed  mate- 
rially to  the  upbuilding  of  Percheron  interests  in 
Tazewell  county,  but  men  best  acquainted  with  the 
rise  of  Percheron  breeding  in  that  territoiy  are  free 
to  concede  that  Leslie  Farm  has  led  in  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Tazewell  country  as  a  Percheron  center 
until  it  now  stands  second  in  the  United  States  in 
that  regard. 

M.  C.  Hodgson  and  W.  E.  Prichard,  both  of 
Ottawa,  111.,  whose  operations  have  been  reviewed 
at  length  in  preceding  chapters,  continued  their 
Percheron-breeding  operations  during  this  period 
and  made  material  progTess.  No  sires  of  special 
prominence  were  in  service  in  the  Hodgson  stud 
during  this  period;  most  of  the  stallions  were  of 
Hodgson  breeding  and  used  for  a  short  time.    This 


40G  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 

procedure  was  not  calculated  to  develop  sires  of 
reputation,  but  the  animals  produced  gained  steadily 
in  size  and  draft  character. 

"Billy''  Pritchard  also  used  stallions  of  his  own 
breeding  during  most  of  this  time.  Sultan  41622, 
out  of  a  daughter  of  Confident  3647  (397),  was  one 
of  the  best.  The  stallion  Noirot  62489  (67573)  was 
imported  in  1909  to  head  the  stud  and  gave  good 
results,  although  criticized  by  many  breeders  on  the 
score  of  coarseness. 

Both  Pritchard  and  Hodgson  were  persistent  ad- 
vertisers and  exhibited  at  many  shows.  Both  did 
considerable  dealing  in  addition  to  their  breeding 
operations,  and  were  thereby  enabled  to  place  the 
horses  of  their  own  breeding  at  prices  considerably 
higher  than  the  majority  of  breeders  obtained,  as 
they  sold  direct  to  the  ultimate  user  instead  of  to 
dealers. 

The  Stetson  stud  at  Neponset,  111.,  and  that  of 
Russell  &  Sons,  at  the  same  place,  both  bred  some 
good  Percherons  during  this  period,  although  the 
number  was  not  particularly  large. 

The  sires  in  the  Stetson  paddocks  during  this  time 
did  not  nick  so  satisfactorily  with  the  mares  as  was 
desired ;  few  of  the  colts  were  as  good  as  their  dams. 
Most  of  the  mares  kept  in  the  stud  during  this  period 
were  daughters  of  Feamaught  16302,  son  of  Bac- 
carat 11326  (18639),  the  famous  head  of  the  Kel- 
logg stud.  The  daughters  of  Fearnaught  were 
roomy,  well-proportioned  mares,  ranging  from  1,700 
to  2,000  pounds  in  weight,  with  unusual  quality  and 


STALLION    BAirBOCHEUR    (62018)— PRIZEWINNER    AT    FRENCH    SHOWS. 


MARE  ERICA    (6S31S)— PRIZEWINNER  IN   IllANCE. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  407 

finish.  They  were  particularly  good  in  the  under- 
pinning, and  as  the  owners  themselves  expressed  it, 
were  a  better  lot  of  mares  than  most  of  their  daugh- 
ters proved  to  be.  This  was  undoubtedly  due  to 
failure  to  obtain  the  right  sire  to  nick  with  the 
daughters  of  Fearnaught.  Despite  this,  many  ex- 
cellent Percherons  were  sold  from  this  stud  and  it 
contributed  materially  to  the  breed  ^s  improvement. 

Eussell  &  Sons  did  not  breed  extensively,  but  the 
horses  they  produced  were  a  good,  useful  sort,  of 
very  drafty  pattern.  The  foundation  laid  during 
this  period  was  so  sound  that  at  the  first  and  only 
exhibit  made  by  the  firm  at  the  International  Live 
Stock  Exposition  in  1913  first  and  third  prizes  in  the 
futurity  stakes  were  won  on  stallions  of  their  own 
breeding. 

William  Eumney,  Somonauk,  111.,  bred  a  number 
of  Percherons  during  the  decade,  but  did  not  give 
any  special  attention  to  their  development.  Buyers 
complained  that  his  colts  had  not  been  well  nur- 
tured, and  while  later  they  grew  into  useful  horses, 
lack  of  feed  and  care  undoubtedly  detracted  from 
their  influence  on  our  horse  stocks. 

Important  Illinois  Dispersions. — The  dispersion 
of  the  studs  of  Wyatt  Stanley,  Stronghurst,  111., 
and  of  John  Huston,  Blandinsville,  111.,  in  No- 
vember, 1901,  were  important  events.  The  Stanley 
stud  had  been  established  in  the  '90 's  by  the  pur- 
chase of  an  excellent  group  of  Brilliant-bred  mares 
and  the  stallion  Titus  17122  (36778).  Titus  was 
a  big,  rugged,  heavy-boned,  massive   draft  horse, 


408  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

weighing  more  tlian  2,200  pounds,  and  his  colts  were 
of  the  same  pattern.  Buyers  of  these  animals  came 
from  a  wide  territory,  and  a  number  of  breeders 
were  among  the  leading  purchasers.  G.  H.  &  F.  A. 
Eeed,  Lilylake,  111.,  G.  W.  Patterson,  Worthing- 
ton,  Minn.,  J.  W.  &  J.  C.  Eobison,  Towanda,  Kans., 
and  W.  S.  Dunham,  Wayne,  111.  were  prominent 
among  the  buyers,  especially  of  mares.  The  entire 
lot  of  34  head,  including  young,  old  and  blemished 
animals,  sold  for  $11,117,  an  average  of  $327.50  per 
head. 

The  John  Huston  sale  was  held  on  the  following 
day.  Mr.  Huston's  work  as  an  importer  and  breeder 
during  the  '80 's  and  '90 's  was  well  known  and  the 
attendance  at  this  sale  was  more  numerous  and  from 
more  widely  scattered  territory  than  at  the  Stanley 
sale.  The  dispersion  of  this  stud  was  the  culmination 
of  25  years'  work  with  Percherons,  and  Percherons 
only.  Mr.  Huston  had  bred  persistently  for  the  up- 
standing, drafty  sort,  with  special  emphasis  on  un- 
derpinning and  quality.  His  horses  were  of  the 
large  pattern,  the  stallions  standing  about  17  hands 
high,  and  the  mares  I6V2  hands  high,  or  more,  yet 
well  proportioned.  In  the  opinion  of  the  horsemen 
present  at  the  vendue  it  was  doubtful  whether  half- 
a-dozen  of  the  best  mares  could  have  been  duplicated 
in  America  for  size,  weight,  bone  and  quality,  and 
the  other  matrons  were  not  far  behind  the  tops. 
A.  P.  Nave,  Attica,  Ind.,  was  one  of  the  heaviest 
buyers,  and  added  some  grand  breeding  matrons  to 
the  stud     he  had  previously  started.     Isaac  Agen- 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  409 

bright,  G.  W.  Patterson,  J.  H.  Barnes  and  Granville 
Kesling  were  active  in  the  bidding  and  obtained  a 
number  of  animals.  Thirty-four  head  sold  for 
$11,405,  an  average  of  $356.55. 

These  two  sales  distributed  some  of  the  best  Per- 
cherons  to  be  had  among  a  number  of  new  studs 
and  encouraged  Percheron  breeders  generally.  The 
wide  publicity  given  to  these  auctions  and  the  crowd 
of  buyers  from  all  parts  of  the  country  which  as- 
sembled to  bid  on  good  Percherons  gave  notice  to 
breeders  that  conditions  had  changed,  and  that  many 
men  had  confidence  enough  in  the  outcome  of  the 
horse  business  to  pay  good  prices  for  Percherons. 

New  Studs  Founded  in  Illinois. — Hundreds  of 
new  breeding  establishments  were  started  in  Illi- 
nois during  the  period  under  discussion.  It  is 
impossible  to  mention  all  of  these.  One  of  the  most 
important  was  at  Gregory  Farm,  Whitehall,  111.,  by 
W.  S.  Corsa,  whose  later  operations  in  the  Percheron 
field  have  made  him  one  of  the  best-known  breeders. 
Gregory  Farm  required  a  number  of  draft  horses  for 
general  farm  work  and  many  heavy  mares  were 
in  use  on  Mr.  Corsa 's  farm  in  Nebraska.  Cocardos 
16949  (35219),  the  black  son  of  Brilliant  3d,  was 
bought  by  Mr.  Corsa  and  placed  at  the  head  of  his 
Nebraska  bunch  of  grade  mares.  Mr.  Corsa  did 
not  at  that  time  know  that  Cocardos  had  won  first 
prize  in  the  three-year-old  class  at  the  World's 
Columbian  Exposition  in  1903,  neither  did  he  know 
that  he  was  the  sire  of  the  noted  stallion  Lyceen 
21630  (42509)  and  other  good  ones.     Cocardos'  get 


410  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

out  of  the  grade  mares  in  Nebraska  were  of  super- 
lative excellence  and  Mr.  Corsa  often  has  regretted 
since  that  he  did  not  know  this  stallion  ^s  true  value 
in  time  to  use  him  on  purebred  mares.  Radziwill 
27328  (44228)  was  purchased  in  the  fall  of  1901 
or  spring  of  1902  to  use  on  the  mares  at  Gregory 
Farm.  He  had  been  imported  by  Dunham,  Fletcher 
&  Coleman  and  shown  at  the  International  in  1901, 
where  he  attracted  much  attention.  The  use  of 
these  two  sires  on  the  grade  mares  at  Gregory  Farm 
and  at  the  farm  in  Nebraska  impressed  Mr.  Corsa 
most  favorably,  and  having  noticed  a  rapidly  in- 
creasing demand  for  Percherons  he  determined  to 
purchase  a  few  purebred  mares.  The  first  purchase 
of  mares  was  made  from  H.  S.  Hoyman  &  Son  in 
1903,  when  Electress  31729  and  Bona  31730  were 
purchased.  Lucretia  19582  was  bought  about  the 
same  time.  Some  good  mares  were  bought  from 
Parsons  &  Baldwin  shortly  afterward  and  a  few 
purchases  were  made  from  Oaklawn.  A  little  later 
some  mares  of  Brilliant  breeding  were  bought  from 
Lee  Bros,  of  Kansas.  Among  these  was  Folichonne 
31518  (54111),  one  of  the  most  valuable  mares  ever 
owned  in  the  stud.  She  was  an  inbred  Brilliant, 
having  for  sire  Besigue  and  for  her  dam  a  daughter 
of  the  same  Besigue.  These  mares  and  the  others 
which  had  been  added  from  time  to  time  gave  Greg- 
ory Farm  quite  a  band  of  matrons  by  1908.  Their 
produce,  sired  by  Radziwill,  was  so  satisfactory  that 
Mr.  Corsa  determined  to  secure  the  best  stallion 
obtainable  to  succeed  Radziwill  in  the  stud,  and  for 


CAENOT  66666    (66666).   CHAMPION  AT  INTERNATIONAL  EXPOSITION.    1909. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  411 

use  on  the  fillies  sired  by  him.  Carnot  66666 
(66666) y  a  winner  of  first  prize  at  Paris  and  with 
practically  an  nnbroken  string  of  victories  in  tlie 
United  States  to  his  credit,  was  champion  stallion 
at  the  International  in  1909.  His  purchase  at  the 
hitherto  unheard  of  price  of  $10,000  was  consum- 
mated and  he  went  to  the  head  of  the  Gregory  Farm 
stud  in  1910.  Actual  breeding  operations  at  Gregory 
Farm  during  the  first  decade  of  the  century  were 
carefully  planned,  but  no  showing  or  advertising  of 
consequence  was  done  until  after  the  purchase  of 
Carnot  in  1909.  The  mares  that  had  been  purchased 
and  those  bred  at  White  Hall,  however,  had  given 
Mr.  Corsa  a  strong  foundation,  worthy  of  the  high- 
priced  sire  selected,  and  subsequent  breeding  opera- 
tions, combined  with  unusually  skillful  advertising 
in  the  showring  and  agricultural  press,  have  placed 
the  Gregory  Farm  stud  among  the  leading  Percheron 
breeding  establishments  of  the  present  period. 

Progress  in  Iowa. — Iowa,  second  in  Percheron 
breeding  from  an  early  period,  maintained  its  rank 
during  this  decade.  While  there  were  fewer  noted 
and  extensive  breeders  of  Percherons  in  Iowa 
than  in  Illinois,  the  operations  Avere  more  widely 
scattered  through  all  parts  of  the  state  than  was 
the  case  in  Illinois.  A  foundation  was  laid  which 
has  brought  the  state  very  close  to  Illinois  in  the 
number  of  Percherons  produced. 

The  Lakewood  Farm  stud  was  the  leading  Per- 
cheron-breeding  establishment  in  Iowa  during  this 
period,  and  bred  more  Percherons  than  any  other 


412  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

in  the  United  States  during  this  time.  To  the  pur- 
chases made  prior  to  1900  Mr.  McMillan  added  some 
of  the  best  mares  from  the  E.  L.  Humbert  stud,  the 
Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co.,  and  the  Wyatt 
Stanley  stud,  and  also  numerous  other  mares  bought 
from  scattered  breeders.  Seducteur  was  bought  in 
the  spring  of  1900.  Calypso  25017  (44577),  first- 
prize  winner  in  the  three-year-old  class  at  the  Inter- 
national in  1900  and  reserve  champion  at  that  show, 
was  purchased  in  time  to  make  his  first  season  at 
Lakewood  Farm  in  1901.  He  was  a  line-bred  Bril- 
liant, a  son  of  the  noted  Theudis  and  out  of  a  daugh- 
ter of  Brilliant  3d.  Individually  he  was  not  of  the 
largest  type,  but  stood  about  16%  hands  in  height 
and  weighed  1,900  pounds  in  breeding  condition.  He 
was  a  remarkably  well-proportioned  horse,  beauti- 
fully balanced  throughout,  with  two  good  ends  and 
a  good  middle.  His  underpinning  could  not  be  sur- 
passed and  his  style,  quality  and  action  have  seldom 
been  equalled.  All  in  all.  Calypso  was  one  of  the 
most  perfect  types  of  the  breed  used  in  America 
after  1900,  and  the  only  serious  criticism  ever  lodged 
against  him  was  on  the  point  of  size.  He  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  most  prepotent  sires  ever  known 
to  the  breed.  His  get  won  more  prizes  for  get-of- 
sire  than  that  of  any  other  stallion  used  in  America 
during  his  time;  his  excellence  as  a  sire  made  the 
reputation  of  Lakewood  Farm.  He  worked  under 
the  disadvantage  of  being  bred  to  large  numbers  of 
mares  that  were  intended  solely  for  sale  purposes; 
they  were  not  really  good  enough  to  be  mated  to  a 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  x\USPICIOUSLY  413 

sire  of  sucli  outstanding  excellence.  Despite  this, 
time  has  demonstrated  that  no  sire  ever  begot  a 
more  uniform  and  a  more  excellent  lot  of  colts  than 
Calypso,  when  the  character  of  the  mares  used  is 
taken  into  consideration. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  from  this  that  there  were 
no  good  mares  in  the  Lakewood  Farm  stud.  There 
was  a  large  number  of  mares  of  the  best  type  and 
breeding,  whose  progeny  by  Calypso  carried  the 
colors  of  the  Lakewood  stud  to  the  front  in  the 
strongest  of  competition  at  the  leading  shows. 

Olbert  42815  (53109),  first-prize  aged  stallion  and 
reserve  champion  at  the  1905  International,  was 
purchased  and  used  in  the  Lakewood  stud  during 
the  seasons  of  1906  and  1907.  He  was  an  upstanding 
gray,  over  17  hands  high  and  weighing  2,100  pounds 
in  fair  condition.  He  was  an  upheaded,  stylish  stal- 
lion, rather  more  rangy  in  pattern  than  most  of 
the  horses  of  1905  and  1906.  He  was  a  horse  of 
surpassing  quality,  with  flintlike  bone,  tendons  well 
set  back  and  joints  clearly  defined.  Olbert  was  pur- 
chased for  the  particular  purpose  of  being  mated 
to  the  daughters  of  Calypso,  with  a  view  to  in- 
creasing the  scale  and  draftiness  of  the  Lakewood 
Farm  Percherons.  He  begot  size,  but  his  colts  were 
so  rough  and  rangy  in  appearance  as  yearlings  and 
two-year-olds  that  he  was  disposed  of  before  his 
real  value  as  a  sire  became  apparent.  His  get  did 
not  round  into  sale  form  until  3  and  4  years  of 
age,  but  they  were  horses  of  tremendous  scale  and 
massiveness,  with  more  than  usual  quality.     His 


414  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

blood,  at  first  unappreciated,  was  later  highly  valued 
by  breeders  who  were  seeking  to  increase  the  size 
of  their  Percherons  without  sacrificing  quality.  His 
subsequent  development  into  a  sire  of  high  rank 
vindicated  the  judgment  of  John  Huston,  who  in- 
sisted, as  one  judge  on  the  committee  at  the  Inter- 
national in  1905,  that  Olbert  showed  every  evidence 
of  developing  into  a  great  stock  horse.  Had  this 
stallion  been  given  an  opportunity  to  head  a  great 
band  of  brood  mares,  no  one  can  estimate  how  far- 
reaching  his  influence  might  have  been.  As  it  is,  Ol- 
bert has  a  conspicuous  place  among  Percheron  sires. 
Actual  breeding  operations  at  Lakewood  Farm 
were  subordinated  to  the  work  of  purchasing  and 
distributing  Percherons.  Mr.  McMillan  was  one  of 
the  first  to  realize  the  opportunity  open  to  men  who 
were  good  judges  of  Percherons  and  who  had  the 
means  and  inclination  to  assemble  the  Percheron 
stock  which  had  been  so  widely  scattered  through- 
out the  years  of  depression.  For  years  he  made 
heavy  purchases  of  both  mares  and  stallions,  par- 
ticularly in  Illinois  and  Iowa.  After  carrying  these 
animals  long  enough  to  put  them  in  shape  for  sale 
they  were  sold  at  public  auction  and  were  widely 
distributed  throughout  the  northwest.  A  large  num- 
ber of  the  animals  which  were  recorded  as  bred  at 
Lakewood  Farm  were  from  mares  purchased  for 
sale  purposes,  bred  to  the  Lakewood  Farm  sires 
and  sold  in  foal,  so  that  the  number  actually  bred 
and  raised  at  Lakewood  Farm  is  but  a  part  of  the 
grand  total. 


A.B.Holbert    "])(^    W.S.Corsa 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  415 

The  showyard  winnings  of  the  Percherons  from 
the  Lakewood  stud  constitute  an  important  contri- 
bution to  the  showyard  history  of  this  period,  be- 
ginning at  the  International  of  1906,  where  the 
purple  ribbon  for  grand  champion  mare  fell  to 
lolanthe  40925,  and  where  the  get  of  Calypso  won 
first  for  get-of-sire.  McMillan  &  Son  showed  re- 
peatedly at  the  Iowa  and  Minnesota  State  Fairs  and 
at  the  International  with  marked  success.  The  mare 
lolanthe,  bred  at  Lakewood  Farm,  was  first-prize 
three-year-old  at  the  Iowa  and  Minnesota  State  Fairs 
and  won  the  championship  at  Minnesota,  as  well  as 
at  the  International,  in  1906.  She  came  back  as 
an  aged  mare  and  won  the  championship  at  the  In- 
ternational in  1910,  the  only  mare  that  ever  accom- 
plished this  feat  in  the  history  of  the  show.  The 
American-bred  colts  brought  to  the  front  from  the 
Lakewood  stud  were  the  first  successfully  to  com- 
pete with  imported  horses  in  the  leading  showrings. 
This  stud  did  more  to  overcome  the  erroneous  im- 
pression that  American-bred  horses  Avere  not  so 
good  as  the  imported  ones  than  any  other  breeding 
establishment  of  the  period. 

Singmaster  &  Sons,  Keota,  la.,  continued  opera- 
tions on  an  extensive  scale,  both  as  importers  and 
as  breeders.  The  other  draft  breeds  which  had  re- 
ceived considerable  attention  from  them  prior  to 
this  time  were  relegated  to"  the  background  and  Per- 
cheron  interests  became  paramount  at  Maple  Grove 
Farms.  C.  F.  Singmaster  and  his  son,  J.  0.,  were 
the  most  acjtive  in  the  development  of  this  stud, 


416  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

although  Thomas  Singmaster,  brother  of  C.  F.,  also 
carried  on  extensive  breeding  operations. 

The  heavy  importations  made  by  the  Singmasters 
led  them  to  test  out  a  large  number  of  different  sires, 
and  more  than  25  were  in  service  during  this  period. 
While  this  practice  resulted  in  the  production  of  a 
large  number  of  high-class  Percherons,  it  did  not 
lead  to  the  development  of  any  sires  of  outstanding 
reputation.  Bataclan  21264  (43368)  was  given  more 
liberal  opportunities  in  the  stud  than  most  of  his 
contemporaries,  and  he  subsequently  sired  a  number 
of  purebred  colts  in  the  studs  of  J.  H.  Letts  and 
Brockway  &  Sons.  Niagara  32338  (48905)  was  also 
used  rather  extensively  and  left  many  good  colts  at 
Maple  Grove  in  1905  and  1906.  He  later  saw  service 
in  the  stud  of  0.  L.  Thisler  of  Kansas,  and  still  later 
went  to  P.  W.  Cox  &  Sons.  A  number  of  mares  bred 
to  him  were  sohl  to  Glover  &  Son  of  North  Dakota, 
where  they  contributed  to  the  success  of  their  stud. 

While  no  sires  of  nation-wide  reputation  were  used 
in  the  Singmaster  studs  during  this  period,  the  type 
was  materially  improved  by  persistent  selection  of 
the  best  mares  and  by  carefully  mating  them  to 
such  sires  as  seemed  to  be  best  fitted  to  overcome 
deficiencies.  Eelatively  little  was  done  in  the  way 
of  showyard  exhibitions  until  1907,  but  from  that 
time  on  the  Singmaster  stud  was  most  strongly  rep- 
resented in  the  leading  shows.  The  persistent,  wide- 
spread advertising  done  by  this  firm  and  the  ex- 
tensive sales  made  affected  most  favorably  draft 
horse  development  in  all  sections,  and  a  large  num- 


^*' 


MOULINET     79126      (68017),     FERST-PRIZE     AGED     STALLION     AT     PAKIS      1911, 
AFTERWAKDS  IMPOR'l'ED  TO  AiSIERICA. 


UMI'»^  JV#v 


INDIVISE,    A    PRIZEWINNING    MARE    AT    FRENCH    SHOWS. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  417 

ber  of  breeding  establishments  were  founded  on  the 
purchases  of  mares  and  stallions  from  Maple  Grove. 
The  quality  and  character  of  the  animals  purchased 
has  improved  steadily,  and  the  stud  today  ranks 
among  the  leading  breeding  establishments  in  the 
United  States. 

Maasdam  &  Wheeler,  Fairfield,  la.,  were  ex- 
tensive dealers  and  importers  from  1901  to  1910. 
Their  breeding  operations  were  subordinate  to  their 
other  activities,  but  they  were  well  to  the  front  in 
the  showrings.  They  exhibited  the  gray  mare 
Amorita,  champion  at  the  International  in  1909. 
They  distributed  a  large  number  of  animals  of  drafty 
type  and  their  sales  in  the  western  states  were  most 
extensive. 

L.  M.  Hartley,  one  of  the  early  draft  horse  breed- 
ers in  southeastern  Iowa,  was  another  breeder  Avho 
produced  a  number  of  Percherons  during  this  period 
and  was  also  active  as  a  dealer.  His  horses  were 
characterized  by  heavy  bone  and  extreme  rugged- 
ness  and  massiveness.  They  were  very  powerful, 
well-proportioned  draft  horses,  possessing  more 
draftiness  than  finish.  They  proved  extremely  valu- 
able in  increasing  the  size  and  bone  of  the  stock 
they  were  used  upon  and  a  number  of  the  best  sires 
of  market  horses  trace  to  this  stud.  Samson  27328 
and  Tavernier  35719,  whose  dam  was  a  daughter 
of  Samson,  were  the  leading  stallions  used.  Both 
were  prepotent.  Samson  was  sired  by  Martigny 
2528  (1271),  a  gray  stallion  imported  in  1883  by  Mr. 
Dunham  and  sold  to  Mr.  Hartley  in  1884.    Martigny 


418  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

was  of  the  Favori  and  Coco  breeding,  and  the  most 
valuable  of  the  early  sires  used  in  the  Hartley  stud. 
Bred  to  Tontine  5756  (4240),  a  grand-daughter  of 
Brilliant  1899,  he  begot  Samson.  Samson  stamped 
his  foals  so  indelibly  with  his  own  likeness  that  ex- 
perienced horsemen  who  knew  the  old  horse  could 
pick  his  colts  with  almost  unerring  certainty  out  of 
bands  containing  numerous  animals  of  other  breed- 
ing. Little  was  done  in  the  way  of  showing  the 
horses  bred  in  this  stud,  but  persistent  newspaper 
advertising  was  resorted  to  and  the  horses  were  sold 
over  a  wide  range  of  territory. 

E.  D.  Seaman,  a  neighbor  of  L.  M.  Hartley,  had 
stock  of  much  the  same  pattern  and  was  also  an 
extensive  breeder  during  this  period. 

F.  E.  Waters,  West  Liberty,  la.,  confined  his  work 
largely  to  actual  breeding  operations  and  produced 
some  very  drafty,  useful  stock,  particularly  after 
acquiring  Morse  22714  (40383)  and  Brilliant  D. 
45336.  These  sires  were  both  above  the  average  in 
size  and  draftiness.  Crossed  on  the  thick  mares 
already  in  the  stud  they  begot  some  very  useful 
stock  which  has  been  widely  distributed  through- 
out the  northwest. 

M.  L.  Ayres,  whose  work  has  already  been  dis- 
cussed, was  among  the  ten  leading  breeders  in  Iowa 
during  this  period.  Blande  29259  (36577)  was  the 
leading  sire  used ;  he  was  a  son  of  Brilliant  3d  out  of 
a  daughter  of  the  noted  show  horse  La  Ferte  5144 
(452)  and  had  been  at  the  head  of  M.  Perriott's  stud 
in  France  for  some  time  prior  to  his  importation  by 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  419 

Mr.  Ayres.  Blancle  was  a  black  with  strip  and  snip 
in  his  face,  and  a  horse  of  excellent  pattern,  stand- 
ing about  16.3  hands  high  and  weighing  2,000 
pounds.  He  was  deep-bodied,  strong-backed,  long 
and  level  in  the  croup,  with  excellent  feet  and  set 
of  legs,  and  possessed  good  quality  and  action.  He 
was  an  extremely  prepotent  sire  and  many  of  the 
best  stallions  imported  from  France  were  sired  by 
him.  He  was  the  sire  of  the  Olbert  referred  to  in 
the  discussion  of  the  Lakewood  stud  and  of  many 
other  good  horses.  His  colts  sired  in  Mr.  Ayres' 
stud  were  uniform  and  closely  resembled  their  sire, 
even  to  color  and  markings.  Mr.  Ayres  was  an  ex- 
cellent feeder  and  gave  his  foals  every  opportunity 
for  development.  The  colts  sold  from  this  breeding 
establishment  were  of  the  heavy-boned,  deep-bodied, 
thick,  drafty  kind,  and  rendered  excellent  service 
wherever  used.  Mr.  Ayres'  advanced  age  and  lack 
of  general  education  handicapped  his  operations, 
but  the  horses  bred  by  him  were  undeniably  of  great 
value  to  Percheron  interests. 

James  Loonan  was  another  of  the  10  leading  breed- 
ers in  Iowa  during  this  period,  and  his  operations 
were  strictly  along  breeding  lines.  His  horses  were 
rather  low-down,  thick,  wide  and  drafty,  somewhat 
on  the  ''Dutchman's  type."  Superior  40605,  out  of 
a  daughter  of  Confident,  one  of  the  most  noted  sons 
of  Brilliant,  was  the  greatest  sire  used  in  this  stud. 
He  was  about  17  hands  high  and  a  deep,  thick,  drafty 
horse,  weighing  2,200  pounds  in  show  condition.  His 
colts  were  uniform  in  type  and  of  high  average  ex- 


420  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

cellence ;  lie  rendered  excellent  service  from  the  time 
he  entered  Mr.  Loonan's  stud  as  a  three-year-old  in 
1906.  Some  showing  was  practiced,  animals  bred 
in  this  stud  being  exhibited  at  the  International  in 
1910  and  1911,  where  for  both  years  the  second  prize 
was  won  on  the  get  of  Superior.  Mr.  Loonan's  gen- 
eral advertising  was  somewhat  limited  in  character, 
but  horses  have  been  sold  from  this  stud  over  a  large 
part  of  Iowa  and  to  some  extent  in  the  northwestern 
states  and  Canada. 

Isadore  Link  was  another  Iowa  breeder  whose 
work  already  has  been  touched  upon.  While  he 
did  not  breed  a  large  number  of  Percherons,  they 
were  of  good  type  and  were  much  sought  after  by 
dealers  who  recognized  their  excellent  conformation 
and  quality. 

There  were  numerous  other  breeders  in  Iowa 
whose  operations  are  deserving  of  attention,  but 
they  were  for  the  most  part  men  who  bred  limited 
numbers  of  Percherons.  They  contributed  materi- 
ally to  the  improvement  of  draft  horses  in  Iowa, 
however,  by  the  use  of  high-class  sires  and  by  dis- 
tributing animals  of  good  type  and  breeding,  there- 
by aiding  materially  in  bringing  Iowa  to  its  present 
premier  position  among  the  states  in  number  and 
total  value  of  all  horses. 

Ohio's  Contributions. — Ohio,  third  in  Percheron 
breeding  with  a  total  of  471  breeders  by  1910,  bred 
2,286  Percherons  during  the  decade.  The  Hartman 
Stock  Farm,  Columbus,  0.,  was  the  ranking  breed- 
ing establishment  in  the  state,  and  a  heavy  importer 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  421 

as  well.  Its  operations  began  in  1901  witli  tlie  pur- 
chase of  a  number  of  American-bred  mares.  This 
was  followed  in  1902  by  the  importation  of  more 
than  50  mares  and  several  stallions,  and  additional 
importations  were  made  in  1903,  1904  and  later. 
Ugolin  31488  (46131)  was  the  first  stallion  used,  but 
he  sired  only  a  few  purebred  colts. 

Dr.  Hartman  was  very  wealthy  and  ambitious  to 
build  up  the  greatest  Percheron  breeding  establish- 
ment in  America.  He  bought  a  number  of  the  best 
mares  from  the  Dunham  stud,  several  from  A.  P. 
Nave,  and  purchased  the  best  he  could  obtain  in 
France.  He  also  secured  at  a  long  price  the  stallion 
Besigue,  the  most  noted  sire  used  in  France  between 
1893  and  the  time  of  his  purchase  by  Dr.  Hartman 
in  1904.  Unfortunately  the  horse  died  on  shipboard, 
so  that  Dr.  Hartman 's  plan  of  bringing  over  the 
greatest  sire  France  possessed  to  head  his  breeding 
establishment  failed  of  completion.  He  had  more 
than  120  Percheron  mares  in  his  stud  in  1904,  but 
results  were  extremely  unsatisfactory.  A  large  num- 
ber of  the  mares  were  worked  in  teams  at  heavy 
hauling  by  teamsters  who  were  every  thing  but 
horsemen.  Heavy  pulling  and  backing  of  the  mares 
while  in  foal  resulted  in  the  loss  of  many  foals. 
The  plan  of  running  the  mares  in  large  bands 
favored  the  spread  of  abortion,  which  cut  down  the 
number  of  foals  produced.  The  supposed  tendency 
of  imported  mares  to  be  shy  breeders  on  account 
of  acclimation  fever  for  the  first  2  or  3  years  after 
importation  was  another  retarding  factor,  so  that 


422  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

the  number  of  foals  produced  was  very  small  in 
proportion  to  the  number  of  mares  owned.  Lack  of 
success  in  producing  and  raising  colts  discouraged 
Dr.  Hartman,  and  he  sold  most  of  his  mares  before 
1910. 

The  steady  importations  of  stallions  and  the 
tendency  of  the  men  in  charge  continually  to  try 
out  new  horses  led  to  the  use  of  more  than  20  dif- 
ferent stallions  in  the  Hartman  stud,  with  the  result 
that  none  of  them  was  given  a  thorough  enough  trial 
to  achieve  any  particular  reputation. 

Dr.  Hartman  exhibited  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair 
and  at  the  International  with  fair  success.  Con- 
siderable newspaper  advertising  was  instituted  and 
the  Percheron  importing  and  breeding  operations 
carried  on  by  the  Hartman  Stock  Farm  did  much 
to  increase  the  popularity  of  Percherons,  besides 
leading  to  the  direct  distribution  of  a  large  number 
of  valuable  mares  and  stallions. 

The  mare  Folichonne,  already  referred  to  as  one 
of  the  most  valuable  brood  mares  in  the  Gregory 
Farm  stud,  was  one  of  those  imported  by  the  Hart- 
man Stock  Farm,  and  many  other  mares  that  have 
done  much  good  in  other  breeding  establishments 
were  imported  or  bred  by  this  stud.  While  the 
experiment  was  a  failure  from  a  financial  standpoint 
so  far  as  Dr.  Hartman  was  concerned,  it  nevertheless 
benefited  Percheron  breeding  interests  in  the  United 
States  in  a  material  degree. 

C.  M.  Jones,  Plain  City,  0.,  the  oldest  living 
Percheron  breeder  in  the  United  States,  whose  opera- 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  423 

tions  have  already  been  reviewed  in  some  detail, 
was  another  of  the  most  influential  breeders  in  Ohio 
during  this  period.  His  work  was  continued  along 
the  same  conservative  lines,  but  the  animals  bred 
in  this  stud,  while  few  in  number,  were  of  uniformly 
high  character.  Most  of  the  stallions  produced  by 
Mr.  Jones  went  to  head  purebred  studs,  and  such 
mares  as  were  sold  proved  valuable  additions  to 
other  breeding  establishments.  Diamant  30018 
(46611),  first  prize  two-year-old  at  the  1902  Inter- 
national, was  purchased  by  Mr.  Jones  at  that  show 
and  was  the  head  of  his  stud  from  that  time  on.  He 
was  almost  black  when  shown,  but  subsequently 
developed  into  a  typical  gray.  He  stood  17  hands 
high,  weighed  more  than  a  ton  in  breeding  condi- 
tion and  was  a  stylish,  deep-bodied,  massive,  heavy- 
boned  horse,  with  excellent  underpinning  and  good 
quality;  he  could  have  been  a  little  deeper  in  the 
back  rib  to  advantage.  Diamant  proved  to  be  an 
excellent  breeder,  siring  drafty  colts  of  excellent 
conformation,  quality,  style  and  action.  Although 
he  stood  at  a  higher  service  fee  than  any  other  stal- 
lion in  the  community  he  always  had  all  he  could 
do.  His  colts,  whether  grade  or  purebred,  com- 
manded top  prices.  He  was  the  sire  of  some  very 
good  mares  which  went  into  the  C.  F.  Camp  and 
John  Yost  &  Sons  studs,  and  was  also  the  sire  of 
Dorus  51052,  used  for  some  years  at  the  head  of 
C.  F.  Camp's  stud.  Dorus  sired  Dora  C.  81201,  a 
prizewinner  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair.  Some  of  the 
daughters  of  Diamant  bred  to  Aiglon  34397  (51598), 


424  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

a  son  of  Besigue,  by  C.  F.  Camp  produced  colts  that 
were  good  enough  to  win  the  Eastern  Percheron 
Breeders  ^  Futurity.  The  colt  Algernon  112779,  win- 
ner of  these  Futurity  stakes  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair 
in  1915,  was  bred  on  this  identical  line.  Mr.  Jones 
did  not  do  much  exhibiting,  but  the  influence  of 
his  stud  was  marked,  even  during  this  period. 

John  Yost  &  Sons,  Thornville,  0.,  whose  horses 
have  been  discussed  in  some  detail,  were  among  the 
leading  breeders  in  Ohio  during  this  period.  Some 
of  the  best  mares  in  their  stud  have  been  drawn 
from  the  C.  M.  Jones  establishment,  and  three  of 
the  Jones  stallions,  Wamba  22034,  Moreri  Jr.  26195, 
and  Dunham  42077,  were  used  in  the  Yost  stud  be- 
tween 1901  and  1910  with  excellent  results. 

Henry  A.  Rohrs,  Napoleon,  0.,  who  founded  his 
stud  in  1886,  and  whose  work  has  been  briefly 
touched  upon,  was  one  of  the  five  leading  breeders 
in  Ohio  during  this  period.  He  shipped  some  mares 
to  Oaklawn  in  1902  and  got  a  couple  of  fillies  by 
Theudis.  One  of  these  died  without  produce  but 
the  other,  Theudisanna  35420  proved  to  be  a  good 
breeder.  Mr.  Eohrs  shipped  her  to  White  Hall,  111., 
to  be  mated  to  Camot  in  1912,  obtaining  a  filly 
Carnole  108892.  These  two  instances  indicate  Mr. 
Rohr's  willingness  to  go  to  considerable  expense 
in  his  breeding,  and  his  influence  upon  those  breed- 
ers who  came  in  contact  with  him  was  effective  in 
leading  them  to  exercise  greater  care  in  the  selec- 
tion of  their  stock,  particularly  the  sires. 

Lonzo  McClain,  E.  D.  Koli,  D.  L.  Buchanan,  B.  L. 


IMPREOATIOX   79304    (79214),   CHA.MrioX   AT   CHICAGO   INl'ERXATIONAL,    1911-12. 


DRAGON    52155     (63516).    CHAMPION    AT    CHICAGO    IXTERJN'ATIONAX..    1907. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  425 

Robinson,  F.  M.  Camp,  E.  J.  Condit  and  A.  B.  New- 
son  were  other  breeders  whose  work  was  valuable  to 
Percheron  interests  in  Ohio  during  this  period.  And 
there  were  many  others  whose  operations,  while  less 
extensive,  were  potent,  particularly  in  the  local  field. 
Of  those  named  Mr.  Camp  has  bred  more  prize- 
winners than  any  other,  and  his  success  has.  been 
due  largely  to  his  insistence  upon  procuring  the 
best  possible  foundation  stock  and  to  his  unusually 
intelligent  care  in  the  management  and  feeding  of 
the  colts  he  has  produced.  His  stock  was  character- 
ized by  size,  good  conformation,  excellent  under- 
pinning, ample  style  and  action.  He  has  demon- 
strated that  it  is  possible  for  a  small  breeder  whose 
chief  interests  are  in  farming  to  produce  horses 
capable  of  winning  in  the  hottest  competition. 

The  filly  that  won  the  first  Eastern  Percheron 
Futurity  stake  at  the  Ohio  State  Fair  and  the  stal- 
lions that  won  the  same  futurity  stakes  in  1914 
and  1915  were  all  bred  by  Camp.  The  stallion  that 
won  the  futurity  in  1914  won  second  in  the  two- 
year-old  stallion  class  at  the  Iowa  State  Fair,  and 
third  at  the  Panama-Pacific  Exposition  in  San  Fran- 
cisco in  1915,  proving  that  his  early  performance 
was  no  fluke.  These  winnings,  convincing  evidence 
of  the  soundness  of  Mr.  Camp's  methods,  should 
serve  to  drive  home  to  thousands  of  other  farmer- 
breeders  who  have  but  a  few  Percherons  the  fact 
that  large  numbers  are  not  required  to  produce  prize- 
winners that  sell  for  long  prices.  Sound  judgment 
in  the  selection  of  foundation  stock,  the  use  of  good 


426  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

sires,  and  intelligent  management  in  the  breeding 
and  development  of  tlie  colts  mean  far  more  than 
the  possession  of  a  large  band  of  mares. 

McLanghlin  Bros.,  whose  headquarters  were  at 
Columbus,  0.,  were  among  the  most  extensive  im- 
porters operating  in  the  United  States  during  this 
period.  They  confined  their  operations  exclusively 
to  imported  horses  and  rarely  bought  mares  except 
on  special  orders.  They  imported  a  large  number 
of  very  high-class  stallions,  excellent  both  in  in- 
dividuality and  in  bloodlines,  between  1901  and  1908. 
Nearly  all  their  stallions  were  sold  to  syndicates  on 
the  company  plan  at  high  prices,  and  as  a  result 
comparatively  few  of  the  many  stallions  which 
they  imported  were  ever  used  on  purebred  mares, 
as  most  of  them  went  to  neighborhoods  where  only 
grade  mares  were  available.  There  were  some  notable 
exceptions  to  the  rule,  but  the  majority  of  the  stal- 
lions imported  by  this  firm  have  been  lost  to  the 
breed.  The  firm  was  very  active,  however,  in  adver- 
tising and  popularizing  Percherons.  The  McLaugh- 
lins were  extensive  exhibitors  at  the  leading  shows, 
sending  forward  horses  that  were  as  a  rule 
well  brought  out.  They  were  aggressive  and 
extensive  advertisers  in  the  agricultural  press.  The 
firm  is  no  longer  in  existence,  but  Mr.  James  B. 
McLaughlin  still  retains  his  old-time  interest  in  tlie 
breed,  carrying  on  his  operations  at  Annington 
I'arm  in  the  state  of  Maryland. 

The  Percherons  bred  in  Ohio  during  this  period 
were  good,   although  they  did  not  possess  on  an 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  427 

average  so  miicli  scale  as  tlie  Illinois  and  Iowa 
horses. 

Progress  in  Kajisas. — Kansas,  fourth  in  Perche- 
ron  breeding,  Avith  319  breeders  by  1910,  bred  a  total 
of  2,039  Percherons  during  this  period.  Slower 
progress  was  made  in  this  state  than  in  Illinois, 
Iowa  or  Ohio.  This  was  due  in  part  to  the  fact 
that  the  farmers  had  been  harder  hit  by  years  of 
depression,  and  also  to  the  fact  that  they  had  se- 
vere drouths  and  short  crops  in  1902  and  1904. 
The  steadily  increasing  demand  for  draft  horses  for 
farm  use  was  a  stimulant,  and  the  sale  of  many  im- 
ported stallions  in  the  Sunflower  State  by  strong 
importing  firms  hastened  the  liking  of  Percheron 
sires. 

J.  C.  &  J.  W.  Robison,  whose  first  Percheron 
mares  were  purchased  in  1897,  had  the  leading 
stud  in  Kansas  during  this  period.  The  first  mare 
purchased  was  Eosalie  4894,  a  daughter  of  Nyanza 
869.  J.  C.  Robison  bought  her  from  Henry  Avery, 
Wakefield,  Kans.,  and  at  the  time  he  was  there 
Mr.  Avery  offered  to  let  him  take  one  or  all  of  the 
mares  at  $100  each.  This  band  of  mares  contained 
several  daughters  of  Brilliant  3d  and  many  others 
of  excellent  breeding,  but  the  horses  were  then  lack- 
ing in  size  and  Mr.  Robison  was  entirely  un- 
acquainted with  Brilliant  3d's  reputation  as  a  sire. 
He  finally  purchased  the  one  mare  with  considerable 
trepidation,  but  has  regretted  often  since  that  he 
did  not  buy  the  entire  band. 

In  the  spring  of  1900  J.  C.  Robison  bought  for 


428  A  HISTORY  OF  TPIE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

the  firm  4  imported  mares  and  2  colts  at  the  side 
of  their  dams,  from  S.  W.  McMillan,  Topeka,  Kans. 
These  mares  were  of  the  Ellwood  stock  and  ex- 
cellent individuals,  but  Mr.  McMillan  had  become 
discouraged  by  reason  of  the  long  depression  in 
values.  He  sold  the  entire  bunch  to  Mr.  Robison 
for  $610.  Among  the  band  thus  purchased  for  a 
song  was  the  mare  Fine  13085  (26998).  She  had  a 
filly  foal  at  side  when  purchased,  which  Mr.  Eobi- 
son  recorded  as  Zaza  24618.  Zaza  subsequently  won 
first  in  the  aged  mare  classes  at  the  St.  Louis  Ex- 
position in  1904.  Her  half-sister  Fauvette  27223, 
produced  by  Fine  in  1901,  won  first  in  the  three- 
year-old  class,  and  the  two  were  sold  immediately 
after  the  show  to  E.  B.  White  of  Leesburg,  Va.,  for 
$1,000  each.  Fine  produced  another  foal  in  1902, 
but  after  that  time  quit  breeding. 

Three  other  valuable  mares  were  added  to  the 
Robison  stud  in  1901  by  purchases  made  at  the 
Wyatt  Stanley  sale.  One  was  Albertine  5119  (7587), 
a  daughter  of  Confident.  Another  was  the  mare 
Azalia,  sired  by  Brilliant  1271  and  out  of  Albertine. 
The  third  mare  was  Idalia,  another  daughter  of 
Brilliant  1271.  These  mares  were  excellent  indi- 
viduals and  had  been  good  producers  in  the  hands 
of  their  previous  owners,  but  transplanting  them 
to  Kansas  apparently  interfered  with  their  breeding, 
for  none  of  them  proved  to  be  satisfactory  producers 
after  passing  into  the  ownership  of  the  Whitewater 
Falls  stud.  Their  failure  to  breed  regularly  was 
a  sore  disappointment  to  Mr.  Robison,  as  they  were 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  429 

mares  of  the  most  desirable  bloodlines  and  excellent 
individuals. 

Endymion,  another  grand,  big  mare,  a  daughter 
of  Brilliant  3d,  also  proved  to  be  an  unreliable  pro- 
ducer. She  was  bought  by  the  Eobisons  in  1903, 
and  although  bred  regularly  proved  barren  until 
1907.  She  was  subsequently  sold  to  C.  N.  Miller, 
Lindsay,  Ark.,  who  got  a  foal  out  of  her  in  1909. 
He  in  turn  sold  her  to  W.  S.  Corsa  in  1910,  who  did 
not  succeed  in  getting  a  foal  from  her  until  1914. 
She  produced  altogether  only  5  foals  in  17  years. 

Some  mares  were  purchased  by  Eobison  &  Son 
from  Thodore  Moore,  Arkansas  City,  Kans.  These 
were  of  the  Dillon  stock  and  Victorine  61629,  later 
one  of  the  best  brood  mares  in  Mr.  Corsa 's  stud, 
was  bred  by  Mr.  Eobison  out  of  Victoria  41198,  one 
of  the  mares  included  in  this  purchase.  Eosa  Bon- 
heur  11324  (10382)  would  probably  rank  next  to 
Fine  as  a  valuable  brood  mare.  She  was  a  daughter 
of  Confident  and  was  imported  by  the  Ellwoods. 
She  passed  into  the  hands  of  0.  L.  Thisler  and  later 
to  T.  K.  Tomson  &  Son,  from  whom  Mr.  Eobison 
bought  her.  She  produced  4  foals  from  1902  to 
1905  at  the  Whitewater  Falls  Farm,  and  they  were 
all  exceptionally  high-class.  The  last  one.  Brilliant 
42592,  was  used  for  some  time  in  the  home  stud. 
Some  other  good  mares  were  bought  from  S.  C. 
Hanna,  who  had  obtained  some  of  the  best  matrons 
from  his  brother's  stud  at  Bloomington,  111.  Some 
of  the  best  things  bred  by  the  Eobisons  during  this 
period  came  from  this  foundation. 


430  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

The  chief  stud  sires  used  at  Whitewater  Falls 
during  this  period  were  Fantome  25972  (43683), 
Social  9311  (18468),  and  Casino  27830  (45462). 
Casino  was  the  stallion  that  really  made  the  repu- 
tation of  the  stud.  He  Avas  imported  in  1901  by 
Singmaster  &  Sons,  and  was  a  line-bred  Brilliant,  a 
son  of  Theudis  out  of  a  granddaughter  of  Brilliant 
1899.  He  went  to  the  head  of  the  Whitewater  Falls 
stud  in  1902  and  is  still  in  active  service,  although 
now  20  years  of  age.  He  was  a  winner  of  numerous 
prizes  at  state  fairs  in  1902  and  1903,  won  first  in 
the  aged  stallion  class  in  1904  at  St.  Louis  World's 
Fair,  and  has  a  long  record  of  prizes  to  his  credit, 
both  individually  and  as  a  sire.  He  stood  about  17 
hands  high  and  weighed  from  1,900  to  1,950  pounds  in 
breeding  condition.  He  was  a  deep-bodied,  strong- 
backed,  well-ribbed  horse,  symmetrical  throughout, 
and  with  the  stylish  carriage  of  head  and  neck  and 
the  freedom  of  action  so  much  desired  in  Percherons. 
His  colts  were  uniform  in  type,  and  while  he,  like 
Calypso,  suffered  the  disadvantage  of  being  bred  to 
many  mares  that  were  intended  purely  for  sale,  his 
progeny  has  been  considerably  above  the  average 
and  he  is  justly  entitled  to  rank  among  the  noted 
sires  of  the  breed.  He  wrought  decided  improve- 
ment in  the  Whitewater  Falls  Farm  Percherons,  and 
had  his  best  daughters  been  carefully  retained  this 
breeding  establishment  would  have  had  a  band  of 
mares  of  very  much  more  excellence  than  it  did 
possess.  High  prices  tempted  Mr.  Eobison  to  sell 
many  of  Casino 's  daughters,  however.    This  policy, 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  431 

while  =  successful  from  a  financial  standpoint,  un- 
doubtedly interfered  with  the  development  of  the 
stud. 

Mr.  Eobison's  operations  as  a  dealer  were  ex- 
tensive. In  the  later  years  of  this  period  he  bought 
large  numbers  of  mares  in  various  sections,  par- 
ticularly in  Illinois  and  Iowa,  and  distributed  them 
through  the  southwest  by  public  auctions  held  at 
Whitewater  Falls  Farm.  This  resulted  in  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  large  number  of  new  breeding  places 
and  aided  in  popularizing  Percherons  in  Kansas  and 
the  states  to  the  southwest,  where  the  bulk  of  the 
sales  were  made. 

Henry  Avery,  Wakefield,  Kans.,  whose  earlier 
operations,  both  individually  and  as  a  member  of  the 
firm  of  Avery  &  Coleman,  have  already  been  fully 
reviewed,  was  one  of  the  leading  breeders  in  Kansas 
during  this  period.  He  exhibited  at  the  St.  Louis 
Exposition  in  1904,  where  he  won  first  and  third  on 
two-year-old  mares.  The  stallion  Bosquet  40105 
(46612)  was  the  last  sire  in  use  and  left  some  very 
good  colts,  a  number  of  which  went  to  the  stables 
of  J.  H.  Tangeman  when  the  Avery  stud  was  dis- 
persed in  1905.  The  prices  realized  were  satisfac- 
tory, considering  the  fact  that  everything,  old, 
young  and  blemished,  was  sold. 

There  is  no  doubt  but  that  Henry  Avery  rendered 
a  great  service  to  Percheron  breeding  in  Kansas. 
His  stud  was  dispersed  at  a  time  when  victory  was 
practically  within  his  grasp.  The  animals  sold 
passed  into  the  hands  of  many  breeders  in  Kansas 


432  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

and  wherever  given  a  fair  opportunity  for  full  de- 
velopment have  demonstrated  the  good  breeding 
they  possessed  by  maturing  into  large,  well-pro- 
portioned, valuable  Percherons. 

J.  H.  Tangeman,  one  of  the  heavy  purchasers  of 
Avery  stock,  did  not  breed  a  large  number  of  Per- 
cherons, but  produced  very  good  stock.  Many  of  his 
animals  were  considerably  above  the  average  in 
breeding. 

0.  T.  Thisler  also  bred  a  number  of  Percherons 
during  this  period.  He  was  always  more  of  a  dealer 
than  breeder  and  we  have  previously  referred  to 
his  purchases  from  the  Ellwood  stud.  He  also  made 
some  purchases  at  a  later  date  from  Singmaster  & 
Sons.  He  came  quite  active  in  developing  Percher- 
ons in  Kansas  and  at  points  farther  west. 

C.  H.  Spohr,  one  of  the  five  leading  breeders  in 
Kansas  during  this  period  started  with  stock  from 
the  Covell  stud.  The  mare  Mollie  19915,  bred  from 
this  foundation,  was  a  valuable  brood  mare,  a  reg- 
ular producer  of  good  colts.  She  raised  colts  of 
record  in  1902,  1903,  1904,  1905,  1907,  1908,  1909, 
1910,  1912  and  1914,  an  achievement  that  is  sur- 
passed by  few  brood  mares.  Three  of  her  stallions, 
Castillon  1st,  Castillon  2d  and  Castillon  3d,  are  re- 
ported to  have  sold  for  $800  each,  and  the  mare  was 
a  money-maker  from  the  start  of  her  career.  Cas- 
tillon 27318  (46308)  was  the  most  valuable  sire  used 
in  this  stud.  He  was  a  black  with  a  star  in  his  fore- 
head, foaled  in  1900  and  imported  in  1901  by  H.  A. 
Briggs.     Sired  by  Paladin    (Conat   34847)    and    a 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  433 

grandson  of  the  noted  sire  Cliampeaux  6218  (2248), 
he  was  out  of  a  line-bred  Brilliant  dam.  He  was  a 
large,  well-proportioned,  rugged  stallion,  weighing 
2,350  pounds  in  show  condition,  and  his  get  has 
been  distributed  throughout  the  southwest.  The 
management  of  the  stud  has  since  passed  into  the 
hands  of  John  and  John  A.  Spohr. 

Other  Kansas  breeders  who  came  into  prominence 
during  this  period  were  F.  H.  Shrepel,  G.  E.  Clark, 
S.  S.  Spangler,  Snyder  Bros.,  Lee  Bros.,  Clark  A. 
Smith,  S.  C.  Hanna  and  Dr.  J.  T.  Axtell.  None  of 
these  had  bred  very  many  animals  at  the  close  of  the 
decade,  but  they  laid  strong  foundations  for  later 
work. 

Dr.  J.  T.  Axtell  achieved  some  note  by  attempting 
to  create  a  strain  of  bay  Percherons.  He  bought 
a  number  of  typical  animals  of  that  color  and  by 
breeding  these  together  attempted  to  create  a  defi- 
nite strain.  Results  proved  embarrassing,  for  prac- 
tically 50  percent  of  his  Percherons  were  blacks  and 
greys.  It  should  be  possible,  by  persistent  effort 
to  develop  a  strain  of  bays,  and  if  the  doctor's  efforts 
are  not  interrupted  something  of  this  kind  undoubt- 
edly may  be  accomplished. 

The  chief  work  done  by  Percheron  breeders  in 
Kansas  during  this  decade  consisted  in  popularizing 
the  breed  and  in  improving  the  size,  quality  and 
type  of  the  market  horses  and  the  Percherons  in  the 
state.  Extensive  sales  were  made  into  Oklahoma, 
Texas  and  other  southwest  states.  The  breeders  of 
Kansas  have  exerted  a  greater  influence  upon  Per- 


434  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

clieron  development  in  the  southwest  than  have 
those  of  any  other  commonwealth. 

Progress  in  Minnesota. — Minnesota,  fifth  in  Per- 
cheron  breeding  during  the  decade  under  con- 
sideration, had  279  breeders  by  1910,  and  1,583 
Percherons  bred  in  that  state  are  of  record  as 
foaled  during  that  period.  Gr.  W.  Patterson,  the 
Patterson-Erickson  Co.,  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey, 
the  Jean  DuLuth  Co.,  H.  W.  Lightley,  Crandall  & 
Danforth,  L.  C.  Hodgson  and  L.  W.  Orr  were  the 
leading  breeders. 

T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey,  whose  operations  have 
already  been  sketched,  were  the  most  aggressive 
of  the  Minnesota  firms  so  far  as  exhibitions  at  the 
leading  state  fairs  were  concerned,  and  at  this 
time  probably  were  the  most  active  in  distributing 
Percherons.  They  did  not  breed  a  large  number, 
but  the  horses  they  did  produce  were  of  superior 
character  and  successfully  contended  in  the  open 
classes  at  the  Minnesota  State  Fair  during  1900, 
1901,  1902  and  1904.  The  mare  Charmante  10931 
(20451)  was  their  most  valuable  breeding  matron 
and  held  her  showyard  form  to  a  late  age.  Her 
colts  without  exception  were  of  high  character  and 
winners  in  the  leading  shows.  The  DeLanceys 
sold  foundation  animals  to  a  number  of  other  studs 
in  Minnesota  and  wielded  a  decided  influence  in 
the  development  of  Percheron  interests  during  the 
early  part  of  this  period. 

George  W.  Patterson,  Worthington,  Minn., 
founded  his  stud  in  1901  by  purchasing  6  mares 


THE  ISTEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  435 

and  a  stallion  at  the  Wyatt  Stanley  and  John  Huston 
sales,  held  late  in  the  fall  of  1901.  Forfait  16873 
(28578),  head  of  the  John  Huston  stable  for  years, 
was  purchased  to  head  Mr.  Patterson's  stud,  but 
died  before  being  used.  Mr.  Patterson  thereupon 
purchased  Lyceen  21620  (42509)  from  T.  L.  &  J.  L. 
DeLancey,  and  used  him  until  the  spring  of  1908, 
when  he  sold  him  to  the  Jean  DuLuth  stud. 

The  first  colts  bred  by  Mr.  Patterson  were 
dropped  in  1903,  and  Lyceen  was  the  chief  sire  dur- 
ing the  first  5  years,  although  Collegian  22744 
(43609),  a  son  of  Lyceen  and  also  imported  by  the 
DeLanceys,  was  used  to  some  extent.  In  addition 
to  his  6  foundation  mares  Mr.  Patterson  secured 
several  from  Nagle  and  Sons,  Grand  Eidge,  111.,  and 
others  from  the  Minnesota  Percheron  Horse  Co. 

The  mare  Frou  Frou  22681  was  bred  by  H.  G. 
McMillan,  passed  into  Mr.  Patterson's  stud  and 
proved  to  be  a  most  regular  breeder  for  him  and 
also  in  the  hands  of  her  later  owners  A.  J.  Lasby 
and  G.  J.  Gilbertson.  Some  mares  were  also  ob- 
tained by  Mr.  Patterson  from  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey 
and  M.  C.  Hodgson.  Among  the  best  ones  were 
those  purchased  from  Hodgson  &  Nagle.  They  in- 
cluded Rose  Bonheur  12962,  a  daughter  of  the  fa- 
mous Confident  which  proved  a  very  satisfactory 
breeder. 

In  the  spring  of  1907  Mr.  Patterson  transferred 
his  business  to  Patterson-Erickson  Co.  and  extended 
his  holding  of  Percherons.  A  disappointing  number 
of  colts  was  produced,  which  might  have  been  due 


436  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

in  part  to  the  fact  that  he  carried  a  large  number 
of  his  mares  in  idleness.  Many  failed  to  get  in  foal 
and  the  loss  of  colts  was  heavy,  but  despite  these 
difficulties  this  breeding  establisment  bred  106 
Percherons  during  the  10  years.  Numerous  sales 
were  made,  and  the  mares  produced  were  widely 
scattered  throughout  the  northwest.  Some  of  them 
went  to  A.  A.  Sandahl  of  Montana  and  were  subse- 
quently sold  to  Prof.  Oliver  Jenkins  of  the  Leland 
Stanford  University,  in  California.  A.  J.  Lasby 
obtained  some  mares  from  this  breeding  establish- 
ment and  others  were  sold  to  the  Jean  DuLuth  Co. 
Lyceen  was  bought  by  the  Jean  DuLuth  Co.  in  the 
spring  of  1908  and  stood  at  the  head  of  that  stud 
until  1913. 

All  in  all,  the  breeding  operations  conducted  by 
G.  W.  Patterson  and  the  Patterson-Erickson  Co.,  re- 
sulted in  increasing  the  popularity  of  Percherons  in 
Minnesota  and  in  distributing  a  number  of  animals 
throught  the  state  and  the  northwest.  The  state 
fair  showrings  saw  some  of  the  horses  during  the 
latter  part  of  the  decade.  The  stud  was  finally 
dispersed  in  the  spring  of  1914,  U.  L.  Burdick  of 
North  Dakota  taking  all  of  the  remainder. 

H.  W.  Lightley,  whose  work  has  been  touched 
upon  previously,  was  another  of  the  leading  breeders 
in  Minnesota.  He  added  some  mares  by  purchase, 
but  for  the  most  part  extended  his  Percheron  hold- 
ings by  retaining  mares  of  his  own  breeding  in  the 
stud.  The  stallion  Klondike  21633,  bred  by  T.  L. 
&  J.  L.  DeLancey,  was  the  chief  sire  used  by  Mr. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  437 

Liglitley  in  the  early  part  of  the  period.  This  was 
a  very  rugged,  big  horse,  his  sire  being  the  noted 
Titus  17122  (36778)  and  his  dam  the  DeLancey  mare 
Charmante.  He  proved  an  effective  sire.  Dewey 
23968  was  used  a  little  later  with  good  results;  he 
was  bred  by  Mr.  Lightley  and  while  not  so  massive 
in  type  as  Klondike,  left  some  excellent  colts.  This 
stud  bred  only  33  Percherons  during  the  10  years, 
but  the  business  was  carried  on  steadily  and  on  the 
death  of  the  father  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
sons,  who  are  still  conducting  it. 

The  Jean  DuLuth  Co.,  Duluth,  Minn.,  began  in 
1904.  The  foundation  mares  were  obtained  from 
T.  L.  &  J.  L.  Delancey,  G.  W.  Patterson,  and  a  few 
others,  but  the  breeding  operations  were  limited  in 
character  until  about  1908,  when  the  business  was 
expanded.  Special  attention  never  was  given  to  pro- 
ducing Percherons  however;  the  horses  have  been 
bred  as  a  sideline  to  general  farming.  The  purchase 
of  Lyceen,  placed  a  valuable  sire  at  the  head  of  the 
stud  in  1908,  and  while  he  did  not  beget  many  colts, 
they  were  of  superior  character.  In  1913  the  entire 
stud  was  sold  to  U.  L.  Burdick  of  North  Dakota. 

Crandall  Bros.,  Eed  Wing,  Minn.,  reorganized  as 
Crandall  &  Danforth,  Eandolph,  Minn.,  about  1905. 
The  foundation  mares  used  by  Crandall  Bros.,  were 
secured  from  Levy  Bailey,  G.  W.  Patterson  and  Wil- 
liam Mies  &  Co.  These  purchases,  together  with 
other  scattered  ones,  formed  the  basis  of  their  Per- 
cheron  stud,  and  when  Mr.  Danforth  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  firm  the  business  was  carried  on  with  the 


438  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

foundation  stock  already  assembled.  The  first  sire 
of  consequence  was  Spuller  17123  (20848),  purchased 
from  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey.  He  was  a  horse  of 
rugged  character  and  great  size,  and  proved  an 
extremely  prepotent  breeder.  One  of  his  best  colts 
was  the  stallion  Titian  25925,  bred  by  Crandall 
Bros,  out  of  Milena  21636,  a  daughter  of  the  great 
sire  Titus  whose  merits  were  discussed  in  our  con- 
sideration of  the  DeLancey  and  Wyatt  Stanley  studs. 
Titian  was  a  dark-gray,  foaled  in  1900.  He  was 
large,  rugged  and  massive,  and  proved  prepotent. 
He  probably  was  the  most  valuable  sire  used  by 
Crandall  Bros,  and  Crandall  &  Danforth  during  this 
period  and  really  made  the  reputation  of  the  stud. 
He  was  used  freely  by  neighboring  breeders,  includ- 
ing A.  J.  Lasby,  T.  L.  &  J.  L.  DeLancey,  L.  W.  Orr 
and  others,  and  begot  50  colts  of  record,  whose  de- 
scendants are  scattered  all  over  Minnesota.  A  num- 
ber of  prizes  in  the  open  classes  at  the  Minnesota 
State  Fair  are  to  the  credit  of  the  Crandall  firm, 
but  the  exhibitions  were  not  long  continued  and  did 
not  extend  beyond  the  limits  of  the  state.  The 
bulk  of  the  sales  were  local.  The  main  work  of  this 
stud  was  to  popularize  Percherons  in  Minnesota,  and 
its  influence  is  still  marked. 

L.  C.  Hodgson  continued  breeding  Percherons  in 
a  small  way  during  the  early  part  of  the  century, 
and  recorded  22  colts.  Richelieu  21567  and  Sanson- 
net  2d  24588  were  his  most  important  sires  during 
this  time. 

L.  W.  Orr,  Afton,  Minn.,  was  one  of  the  smaller 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  439 

breeders  in  the  state  and  his  work  was  unique.  He 
began  in  1900  w^ith  a  single  mare  which  he  bought 
from  Jacob  Koester.  This  was  Fany  20458;  she 
raised  colts  of  record  every  year  from  1901  until 
1910,  inclusive,  then  missed  until  1914,  when  she  pro- 
duced another  foal.  Mr.  Orr  kept  two  of  her  best 
daughters  for  some  time  and  these  were  also  regu- 
lar breeders  in  his  hands  and  in  the  hands  of  later 
owners.*  His  entire  stud  was  originally  developed 
from  this  one  mare  and  her  produce.  The  financial 
returns  to  Mr.  Orr  were  such  as  to  seem  almost 
fictitious,  but  they  are  well  attested — an  indication 


^Regarding-  the  produce  of  Fany  20458  Mr.  L.  W.  Orr  of  Afton, 
Minn.,  writes: 

"I  bought  the  mare  Fany  in  1900  from  J.  Koester  of  Minne- 
sota. She  was  foaled  in  1895  and  had  produced  some  colts  before 
I  bought  her.  During  the  years  1901  to  1916,  inclusive,  a  period 
of  16  years,  she  has  never  failed  to  get  in  foal,  and  I  have  saved 
and  reared  12  colts  produced  by  her  in  the  16  years  (four  were 
lost  through  abortion  or  shortly  after  birth).  Of  the  colts  foaled 
by  her  in  my  possession  I  sold  the  first,  Rosalie  30609  as  a  mature 
mare  for  $500;  her  second  colt,  Pickador  33150,  a  stallion,  I  sold 
for  $800;  her  third  colt,  a  mare,  Gladdis  34797,  I  sold  at  maturity 
for  $500;  her  fourth  colt,  a  stallion,  Canton  425411,  I  sold  for 
$1,000;  her  fifth  colt,  a  mare,  Blanche  43448,  and  her  sixth  colt,  a 
mare.  Rosette  46841,  I  still  own  and  consider  the  pair  easily 
worth  $1,000;  her  seventh  colt,  a  stallion,  Donald  53982,  I  sold  for 
$600  as  a  yearling  rising  two;  her  eighth  colt,  also  a  stallion, 
Pluton '59395,  I  sold  for  $800;  her  ninth  colt,  a  mare,  Hazel  72135, 
I  reared,  but  she  died  before  she  foaled  a  colt  for  me;  her  tenth 
colt,  a  stallion,  Tripoli  82581,  I  sold  for  $800;  and  her  eleventh 
colt,  a  stallion,  Superior  115223,  I  still  o-wn,  and  consider  him 
easily  worth  $800.  Her  last  colt,  foaled  in  1916,  is  one  of  the  best 
stallion  foals  she  has  ever  produced,  and  I  think  $350  is  a  moderate 
estimate  of  his  value. 

"I  have  sold  seven  of  her  colts  for  $5,000  in  cash,  and  still 
own  four,  valued  conservatively  at  $2,150.  Fany  has  been  a 
regular  w^ork  mare,  and  has  done  as  much  w^ork  as  any  mare  I 
have  ever  owned,  taking  her  turn  in  the  teams  most  of  the  time 
the  year  around.  She  has  never  been  shod  except  when  I  have 
chosen  to  take  her  out  to  county  and  district  fairs,  but  it  is 
interesting  to  note  that  I  have  won  more  in  prize  money  by 
exhibiting  her  than  the  mare  herself  cost.  Her  daughters  have 
been  prolific,  have  reared  excellent  colts,  and  I  believe  that  two 
of  them  will  in  time  make  a  better  record  than  the  old  mare  as 
money-makers. 

"I  have  never  made  an  investment  that  has  paid  me  as  well 
as   the  purchase   of  this   mare." 


•140  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

of  what  a  small  breeder  can  do  if  he  has  a  good  mare 
to  start  with. 

Among  the  many  other  breeders  whose  opera- 
tions were  more  extensive  than  the  average  were 
Mannel  Cross,  A.  J.  &  W.  J.  Lasby  and  D.  N. 
Tollman. 

Most  of  the  Percheron  breeding  in  Minnesota, 
however,  was  conducted  by  farmers  who  had  from 
one  to  three  mares.  The  large  establishments  which 
had  made  this  state  famous  in  an  earlier  period, 
notably  those  of  Leonard  Johnson  and  the  Minne- 
sota Percheron  Horse  Co.,  had  for  the  most  part 
been  dispersed.  The  mares  passed  at  moderate 
prices  into  the  hands  of  farmers  who  have  built  up 
Percheron  studs  of  importance  from  a  beginning  of 
one  or  two  mares. 

The  Hoosier  Horsemen. — Indiana,  sixth  in  Per- 
cheron breeding,  had  a  total  of  184  Percheron  breed- 
ers by  1910  and  1,582  Percherons  bred  in  the  state 
were  foaled  during  this  period.  A.  P.  Nave,  George 
D.  Enyart,  C.  A.  Randolph,  William  Day,  L.  A. 
Rickel  and  Granville  Kesling  were  among  the  most 
active  Percheron  breeders  in  the  state.  J.  Crouch 
&  Son  and  L.  W.  Cochran  were  heavy  importers  and 
very  active  as  dealers,  influencing  Percheron  prog- 
ress in  the  state  to  a  marked  degree. 

J.  Crouch  &  Son,  although  strictly  importers  and 
dealers,  were  especially  influential  in  encouraging 
Percheron  breeding  in  Indiana  as  they  imported  a 
large  number  during  this  time.  The  horses  which 
they  brought  from  France  to  Lafayette  Stock  Farm 


G.R. Crouch 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  441 

were  high  class,  including  many  of  the  most  noted 
prizewinners  in  France.  Crouch  &  Son  were  ag- 
gressive exhibitors  in  the  showring,  winning  a 
large  portion  of  the  prizes  at  the  Indiana  and  Ohio 
State  Fairs,  and  at  the  International  Live  Stock 
Exposition.  Through  their  widespread  newspaper 
advertising  they  did  a  great  deal  towards  popular- 
izing Percherons  in  Indiana  and  adjoining  states. 

A.  P.  Nave  was  the  most  active  and  influential 
breeder  in  Indiana  during  the  decade.  The  founda- 
tion of  his  Walnut  Grove  stud  was  laid  in  1897  by 
leasing  mares  from  M.  W.  Dunham,  a  number  of 
which  he  subsequently  purchased.  He  also  made 
a  number  of  purchases  from  William  Rumney  & 
Sons,  David  Eisser  and  the  Stetson  Estate  in  Illi- 
nois, and  was  a  heavy  buyer  of  the  best  mares  sold 
by  John  Huston,  Blandinsville,  111.,  in  1901. 

The  mares  which  A.  P.  Nave  purchased  for  foun- 
dation purposes  were  among  the  best  to  be  obtained 
in  the  United  States  at  that  time,  and  these  were 
added  to  by  importations  from  France.  Mr.  Nave 
has  the  distinction  of  being  the  first  Percheron 
breeder  in  the  United  States  to  make  importations 
of  mares  from  France  after  the  depression  of  the 
'90 's.  He  also  bought  all  the  good  mares  he  could 
find  in  various  parts  of  Indiana  and  Illinois.  One  of 
the  most  important  bunches  of  well-bred  stock 
which  he  secured  was  purchased  from  Ben  Miller, 
Mount  Ayr,  Ind.  Mr.  Nave  also  bought  the  entire 
stud  of  E.  L.  Packer,  Toulon,  111.,  as  well  as  that  of 
T.  L.  Newton,  Beaverdam,  Wis.     Later  Mr.  Nave 


442  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

obtained  the  entire  collection  of  John  Hanchett,  Big 
Rapids,  Mich.,  which  included  the  grand  stallion 
Gauthier  57626  (70231).  He  also  bought  some  very 
good  mares  from  Robert  Bumham,  of  Champaign, 
111.,  and  from  W.  H.  Parker,  Maroa,  111.  These 
numerous  purchases  of  well-bred  Percherons  of  good 
type  gave  Mr.  Nave  a  most  extensive  band  of  more 
than  average  merit.  He  selected  big,  rugged  mares 
standing  around  16%  to  17  hands  in  height,  deep- 
bodied,  strong-backed,  symmetrical,  and  of  extreme 
draftiness.  Those  secured  from  the  Huston  stud 
were  among  the  best;  Minerva  31076  (43173),  Rose 
31068  (50734)  and  Lisa  31071  (46682)  were  well  up 
in  the  prizelists  at  the  1902  International.  Cora  B. 
22867,  Castillonne  40389  (52602)  and  Julie  40388 
(51192)  were  winners  for  Mr.  Nave  at  the  1903 
International,  Castillone  and  Julie  being  first  and 
second  in  the  two-year-old  filly  class,  while  the  best 
American-bred  mare  at  the  show  was  Cora  B. 

Brilliant  19648  was  the  first  sire  of  importance 
used  at  Walnut  Grove  and  proved  a  very  effective 
breeder.  He  was  followed  by  Abo  22626  (43517), 
a  massive  black  horse  standing  17  hands  in  height 
and  weighing  more  than  a  ton.  Abo  was  very 
potent,  begetting  a  uniform  lot  of  heavy-boned  black 
colts. 

Victoria  24449  (42905)  was  the  most  noted  sire 
used  in  the  Nave  stud.  He  was  one  of  the  most 
famous  sons  of  Besigue.  Black,  with  a  star  and 
white  hind  feet,  he  was  one  of  the  largest  sons  of 
Besigue,  standing  over  17.1  hands  high,  and  being 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  443 

deep-bodied,  well-proportioned  and  of  very  massive 
type.  He  had  been  imported  in  1900  by  McLaughlin 
Bros.,  who  sold  him  to  Iowa.  He  came  into  promi- 
nence when  his  son  Pink  won  the  championship  at 
the  International  in  1903.  Two  of  Mr.  Nave's  im- 
ported show  mares  were  sired  by  Victoria  and  he 
decided  to  make  a  trip  to  Iowa  to  locate  the  stallion. 
He  found  him  in  the  hands  of  a  farmer  w^ho  had 
given  him  very  poor  care  and  who  had  no  idea  of 
his  real  worth  as  a  sire.  Mr.  Nave  had  a  favorable 
impression  of  his  value,  as  he  had  seen  many  of  his 
colts  and  knew  that  many  of  the  best  horses  im- 
ported in  1900,  1901,  1902  and  1903  had  been  sired 
by  him.  He  had  imported  some  of  these  colts  him- 
self. He  succeeded  in  purchasing  Victoria  at  a  mod- 
erate figure,  but  had  an  opportunity  to  sell  him 
shortly  afterwards  to  a  breeder  in  Virginia,  so  that 
only  a  few  colts  sired  by  this  stallion  were  bred  at 
Walnut  Grove. 

Mr.  Nave  was  among  the  first  to  hold  public  sales 
of  Percheron  horses,  and  his  auctions  in  November, 
1901,  and  in  March,  1902,  were  important  events 
in  breed  history.  They  were  the  first  public  sales 
of  Percheron  horses  in  eastern  territory.  Satisfac- 
tory prices  were  obtained,  and  the  mares  sold  were 
distributed  among  many  small  breeders  who  now 
trace  their  success  to  this  foundation  stock. 

All  in  all,  Mr.  Nave's  work  as  a  breeder,  exhibitor 
and  advertiser  of  Percheron  horses  was  of  greatest 
importance.  He  undoubtedly  did  more  to  encourage 
farmers  to  use  Percheron  mares  on  their  farms  than 


444  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

any  other  breeder  in  the  state  of  Indiana  during  this 
decade. 

H.  B.  Lyman,  Lafayette,  Ind.,  began  breeding 
Pereherons  a  little  before  the  opening  of  the  cen- 
tury. Among  his  foundation  mares  were  Jessie 
24942,  bred  by  George  Shawver,  Lewiston,  111., 
Celestine  12216  (22835),  bought  from  Evan  Jones, 
and  Lafayette  Fair  20783,  bred  by  G.  H.  Van  Dolah  of 
Illinois.  He  also  picked  up  a  few  good  mares  from 
other  sources,  and  though  his  breeding  operations 
were  not  extensive  he  produced  some  very  good  Per- 
eherons. Noble,  bred  by  L.  M.  Yoder,  was  his 
first  sire  and  left  some  excellent  colts.  Mr.  Ly- 
man's Percheron  breeding  was  incidental  to  his 
other  business  and  to  his  farming  interests,  but  he 
bred  and  sold  many  Pereherons  in  Indiana  and 
contributed  to  the  popularity  of  the  breed. 

C  A.  Randolph,  Fowler,  Ind.,  established  a  Per- 
cheron stud  in  1903  by  the  purchase  of  a  few  mares, 
most  of  which  were  bought  in  northern  Indiana  and 
central  Illinois.  These  mares  were  not  of  the  largest 
type,  but  had  the  quality,  and  the  size  was  increased 
by  mating  to  good  sires.  Protecteur  30043  (47573) 
was  the  first  sire  placed  in  service.  He  was  an 
imported  stallion,  a  dark-brown  in  color,  but  of  good 
size  and  type;  he  left  some  excellent  colts.  He  was 
followed  by  Trasbot  34694  (51036),  and  he  in  turn 
was  succeeded  by  Glorieux  50743  (59261).  Glorieux 
sired  a  few  high-class  colts,  but  was  not  so  extens- 
ively used  as  Buck  44521,  bred  by  Mr.  Randolph 
and  sired  by  Trasbot.     Buck  was  used  for  several 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  445 

years  and  his  colts  were  of  very  satisfactory  type, 
with  more  quality  than  the  average.  Mr.  Eandolph 
was  successful  in  the  showring  with  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  Buck,  and  this  stallion  undoubtedly 
contributed  materially  to  the  up-building  of  this 
breeding  establishment.  The  horse  was  extensively 
used  from  1908  until  1913.  Mr.  Eandolph 's  disper- 
sion sale  on  Jan.  30,  1914,  was  one  of  the  most  suc- 
cessful ever  held  in  Indiana.  Mr.  Randolph's  opera- 
tions were  not  so  extensive  as  those  of  some  others 
in  the  state  during  this  decade,  but  he  was  a  man 
of  high  character  and  extremely  popular  in  his  com- 
munity, so  that  his  influence  was  much  greater  than 
the  number  of  Percherons  bred  by  him  would  indi- 
cate. He  was  unusually  helpful  in  encouraging  and 
assisting  small  breeders  to  get  a  start  in  Percherons. 

William  Day,  Fowler,  Ind.,  bred  only  30  Percher- 
ons during  this  decade,  but  laid  a  strong  foundation 
for  later  work.  He,  like  numerous  others  among 
the  smaller  breeders  in  the  state,  was  an  aggressive 
champion  of  Percheron  interests  and  assisted  in  pop- 
ularizing the  breed. 

Wisconsin's  Workers. — Wisconsin,  seventh  in 
Percheron  breeding  during  the  time  under  consid- 
eration, had  a  total  of  269  breeders  by  1910  and  pro- 
duced 1,388  Percherons  of  record  during  the  dec- 
ade. Fred  Pabst  and  G.  N.  Mihills  were  the  leading 
breeders  in  the  Badger  state.  The  Eichland  County 
Horse  Co.,  the  Hagemeister  Stock  Farm  and  C.  D. 
Holt  &  Son  also  produced  a  good  many  Percherons, 
and  H.  A.  Babcock,  Louis  Lewellen,  Jacob  Burgy 


446  A  HISTORY  OP  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

and  James  J.  Boyd  were  influential  in  Percheron 
affairs  during  this  time. 

The  Pabst  Percheron  business  was  greatly  in- 
creased by  the  purchase  of  the  entire  stud  of  the 
Little  Missouri  Horse  Co.,  of  North  Dakota,  in  1906. 
This  gave  Fred  Pabst  a  large  band  of  high  grade 
Percheron  horses,  including  about  1,000  suckling 
colts  that  carried  3  or  4  crosses  of  Percheron  blood. 
About  150  purebred  Percherons  were  also  included 
in  this  purchase,  and  while  many  of  them  lacked 
size  on  account  of  having  been  raised  under  range 
conditions,  they  were  well  bred  and  for  the  most 
part  of  good  type  and  superior  quality.  More  than 
30  of  these  mares  were  retained  in  the  stud  and 
proved  good  breeders. 

Mr.  Pabst  bought  from  the  Hagemeister  Stock 
Farm  in  the  early  part  of  the  decade,  and  scattered 
purchases  were  made  from  H.  D.  &  F.  A.  Reed,  the 
Hartman  Stock  Farm  and  various  small  breeders  in 
Wisconsin.  Due  50740  (53786)  and  Mylord  54216 
(64236)  were  the  sires  most  in  use,  and  both  were 
effective  in  getting  more  size. 

Mr.  Pabst  and  his  family  controlled  the  Pabst 
Brewing  Co.,  of  Milwaukee,  and  employed  there 
and  in  branch  establishments  nearly  800  draft 
geldings.  Experience  had  satisfied  Fred  Pabst  that 
grade  Percheron  geldings  were  the  most  satisfac- 
tory for  heavy  draft  work  in  the  cities,  and  his  su- 
perintendent, James  G.  Boyd,  has  long  been  recog- 
nized as  one  of  the  shrewdest  judges  of  durable 
draft  geldings.     Practically  all  of  the  horses  pur- 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  447 

cliased  were  high  grade  Percherons,  and  it  was  de- 
cided to  exhibit  a  six-horse  team.  In  1904  a  six- 
horse  team  bearing  the  Pabst  colors  won  the  cham- 
pionship at  the  Louisiana  Purchase  Exposition  and 
at  the  International.  The  exhibition  of  this  great 
team  at  leading  shows  was  another  factor  in  popu- 
larizing Percheron  breeding.  Much  credit  is  due 
the  Pabst  establishment  for  showing  the  geldings 
at  leading  shows  and  for  the  exhibits  of  this  firm 
at  the  Wisconsin  State  Fair.  Every  effort  was 
made  to  encourage  and  assist  small  breeders  in 
obtaining  a  start  in  Percheron  horses,  and  a  large 
share  of  the  credit  for  Percheron  improvement  in 
Wisconsin  must  go  to  the  Pabsts,  father  and  son. 

G.  N.  Mihills,  lumberman,  had  begun  breeding 
Percherons  in  the  '90 's  and  continued  throughout 
this  period.  He  made  a  number  of  purchases  from 
the  Pabst  Stock  Farm  and  reserved  many  of  the 
females  which  he  himself  had  bred.  In  spite  of 
his  Percherons  being  a  side  issue,  Mr.  Mihills  pro- 
duced 100  of  his  own  breeding  during  this  period 
and  made  numerous  sales  throughout  Wisconsin, 
assisting  materially  in  the  upbuilding  the  state's 
Percheron  interests.  Brentt  24062  and  Eipon  22299 
were  the  chief  sires  used  in  the  early  part  of  the 
decade.  Both  were  valuable  stock  horses.  Brentt 
was  more  freely  used  than  Eipon. 

The  Richland  County  Horse  Co.  was  composed 
of  a  number  of  farmers  at  Richland  Center,  Wis., 
who  purchased  a  band  of  mares  in  1905.  J.  W. 
Martin  and  R.  C.  Lybrand  were  the  leading  spirits 


448  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

in  the  movement.  Altliough  the  mares  were  pur- 
chased and  the  business  was  conducted  in  the  name 
of  the  Richland  County  Horse  Co.  the  mares  were 
in  reality  owned  by  the  individual  farmers.  The 
stallions  were  owned  by  the  company.  The  mares 
were  purchased  from  various  sources,  but  mainly 
in  southeastern  Iowa.  They  were  of  the  rugged, 
drafty  sort,  but  some  were  lacking  in  finish.  While 
the  Eichland  County  Horse  Co.  bred  many  Perche- 
rons  during  this  period,  very  few  of  the  farmers  gave 
sufficient  care  and  feed  to  their  horses  to  obtain 
the  best  results.  The  criticism  generally  lodged 
against  the  colts  bred  in  Richland  county  was  that 
they  lacked  size,  frankly  admitted  to  be  due  to 
lack  of  feed.  A  number  of  browns,  chestnuts  and 
bays  were  produced  from  this  stock,  which  did  not 
add  to  its  popularity.  All  in  all,  however,  the 
efforts  of  the  farmers  in  the  Richland  County  Horse 
Co.  resulted  in  popularizing  Percherons  in  that  part 
of  the  state  and  induced  more  farmers  to  make 
a  start  with  better  horses. 

The  Hagemeister  Stock  Farm,  C.  D.  Holt  &  Son 
and  Lewis  Lewellen  bred  some  good  Percherons  and 
sold  many  to  local  buyers.  None  of  these  firms  did 
much  in  exhibiting  at  the  leading  shows,  though 
Lewellen  has  been  more  active  in  later  years  and 
has  made  many  exhibits  of  highly  creditable  Per- 
cherons at  the  Wisconsin  State  Fair.  Mr.  Lewellen 
also  sold  the  foundation  mares  which  P.  F.  Wick- 
ham  of  South  Dakota  used  in  founding  his  stud. 
The  Lewellen  mares  have  proved  profitable  in  the 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  449 

hands  of  later  owners,  as  tliey  have  been  regular 
producers  of  saleable  colts. 

H.  A.  Babcock's  work  was  limited  during  this 
decade,  but  the  horses  he  did  breed  were  superior. 
Had  his  operations  been  larger  Wisconsin's  draft 
horse  interests  would  be  further  advanced. 

James  G.  Boyd,  of  Milwaukee,  Wis.,  bred  a  few 
Percherons  on  his  farm  near  that  city.  His  pref- 
erence always  has  been  for  the  thick,  drafty,  easy- 
feeding  kind,  and  while  the  horses  which  he  had 
produced  have  not  been  so  large  as  the  Perche- 
rons bred  in  Illinois  and  Iowa,  they  have  effected 
a  decided  improvement  in  the  stud  where  they  have 
been  used.  Most  of  Mr.  Boyd's  sales  were  made 
in  Wisconsin,  though  he  sold  some  Percherons  to 
go  to  Canada.  He  has  always  been  an  aggressive 
champion  of  Percheron  interests  and  because  of 
his  position  as  superintendent  of  the  Pabst  stables, 
for  which  he  has  purchased  thousands  of  geldings, 
he  has  exerted  a  potent  influence  for  draft  horse 
improvement  in  the  state. 

Work  in  Nebraska. — Nebraska,  eighth  in  Perche- 
ron breeding  during  this  period,  had  a  total  of 
229  breeders  by  1910,  and  1,518  Percherons  bred  in 
the  state  are  recorded  as  foaled  during  this  decade. 
North  &  Eobinson  and  M.  M.  Coad  were  the  lead- 
ing breeders,  but  Uehling  &  Grolder,  Ehea  Bro.. 
and  James  A.  Barr  were  also  active. 

North  &  Eobinson  had  a  large  ranch  near  Cairo, 
Neb.,  and  practically  handled  their  mares  under 
ranch  conditions.    During  part  of  the  time  the  stal- 


450  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

lions  ran  in  pasture  with  the  mares.  The  firm 
made  heavy  imporations,  mainly  of  stallions.  The 
mares  were  purchased  from  many  different  sources, 
but  chiefly  in  Illinois  and  Iowa.  The  trade  was 
largely  with  the  ranchmen  of  the  west  and  the  colts 
were  raised  in  the  pasture,  so  that  many  of  them 
did  not  develop  so  much  size  as  was  to  be  found 
in  the  Percherons  of  Illinois  and  Iowa,  but  they 
were  rugged,  hardy  youngsters,  thoroughly  accus- 
tomed to  the  range  and  profitable  to  the  men  who 
purchased  them.  The  firm  conducted  numerous 
public  sales,  advertised  liberally  especially  in  the 
west,  and  exhibited  to  some  extent  at  the  Nebraska 
State  Fair.  North  &  Eobinson  contributed  mat- 
erially to  the  building  up  of  draft  horse  interests 
in  the  northwest  and  to  the  popularization  of  Per- 
cherons in  that  territory. 

Mark  M.  Goad's  stud  was  continued  on  the  lines 
already  discussed,  until  his  Percherons  were  dis- 
persed about  1905.  It  was  unfortunate  that  they 
received  so  little  feed  and  attention,  as  they  were 
of  superior  breeding.  Despite  the  fact  that  Mr. 
Goad's  horses  were  not  well  grown  out,  they  were 
of  such  type  and  quality  as  to  win  high  honors 
year  after  year  at  the  Nebraska  State  Fair  and 
their  merits  were  recognized  by  shrewd  Percheron 
breeders.  The  mares  bred  in  this  stud  were  widely 
distributed,  and  their  descendants  have  been  found 
in  many  good  breeding  establishments,  notably 
those  of  J.  E.  Wilson  and  Thomas  Irvine  of  Minne- 
sota, G.  H.  Winship,  William  Thatch,  Rhea  Bros. 


LE  BELliE  34985:>,  BKED  IN  yoUTH  DAKOTA,  DEVELOPJ4D  IN  IOWA.  AND 
NOW  OWNED  IN  VIRGINIA.  A  GREAT  BROOD  MARE.  CHAJMPION  AJVIER- 
ICAX-BRED    MARE    AT    INTERNATIONAL    LIVE    STOCK    EXPOSITION    IN    1911. 


PERCMEiRON     MARE    GEORGIANA     28622.     T.\KEN     AT    22    YEARS    OF    AGE    AKTEK 
SHE   HAD   PRODUCED    19    UVING   FOALS. 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  451 

and  E.  T.  Graham  of  Nebraska  and  James  H.  Letts 
of  Iowa.  One  of  the  best  brood  mares  ever  used 
at  the  Missouri  Agricultural  College  came  from  the 
Coad  stock,  and  many  of  the  good  Percherons  in 
southwestern  Iowa  now  trace  to  this  breeding. 
Mark  M.  Coad  left  a  profound  impression  upon 
Percheron  breeding  west  of  the  Missouri  Eiver,  and 
did  more  to  popularize  the  breed  in  that  country 
than  any  other  breeder  of  his  time. 

The  work  of  Uehling  &  Golder,  Ehea  Bros,  and 
James  A.  Barr  already  has  been  discussed  in  earlier 
chapters.  All  continued  breeding  Percherons 
throughout  the  entire  decade,  and  all  made  improve- 
ments in  the  size  and  quality  of  their  stock.  There 
were  numerous  smaller  breeders  in  the  state. 

North  Dakota's  Great  Range  Project. — North 
Dakota,  ninth  in  Percheron  breeding  during  this 
decade,  had  a  total  of  160  breeders  of  Percherons 
by  1910,  and  765  Percherons  of  record  were  bred 
in  the  state  during  this  period. 

The  Little  Missouri  Horse  Co.  had  the  most  im- 
portant breeding  establishment.  While  the  stud 
was  dispersed  in  1906,  the  work  done  by  this  breed- 
ing establishment  was  uniquely  important  and  rep- 
resentative  of  the   improvement   of  range   horses. 

The  story  of  the  Little  Missouri  Horse  Co.  is  a 
romance  of  itself.  A.  C.  Huidekoper,  while  hunt- 
ing buffaloes  in  North  Dakota  in  1880,  was  so  im- 
pressed with  the  good  grasses  there  that  he  started 
a  cattle  ranch.  The  heavy  winter  losses  in  ^86 
and  '87  caused  him  to  swing  to  horses,  and  in  1889 


452  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

he  took  7  Perclieron  stallions  and  26  mares  to  the 
ranch,  about  30  miles  south  of  Medora,  S.  D.  With 
this  seed  stock  he  began  the  improvement  of  about 
500  grade  horses.  Many  of  the  mares  were  of  the 
trotting  type,  weighing  not  over  900  pounds.  The 
work  of  grading  up  this  mixed  band  of  mares 
until  in  1906  the  holdings  numbered  more  than 
4,000  head,  with  approximately  1,000  foals  branded 
that  season,  all  of  true  Perclieron  type,  was  an 
object  lesson  of  incalculable  value  to  western  horse- 
men. Some  size  was  lacking,  due  to  the  fact  the 
colts  were  raised  on  the  range  without  grain, 
but  the  grades  matured  at  weights  from  1,500  to 
1,800  pounds  and  were  so  uniformly  good  that  the 
type  became  famous  among  marketmen.  Mr.  Huide- 
koper,  commenting  on  his  reasons  for  preferriing 
Percherons  for  his  work,  says: 

"I  can  not  refrain  from  calling  attention  to  the 
activity  of  the  Perclieron  horse.  My  experience 
at  the  ranch  taught  me  that  a  Perclieron  stallion 
turned  into  a  large  corral  will  take  the  exercise  that 
he  requires  to  keep  him  in  good,  serviceable  con- 
dition. Furthermore,  he  does  it  intelligently.  When 
first  turned  out  he  takes  several  minutes  to  play, 
to  work  off  his  surplus  spirit,  and  then  looks  over 
the  corral  to  see  what  is  going  on  outside.  He 
watches  the  men  at  the  cookhouse,  the  men  at  the 
stable,  the  people  around  the  ranch.  If  he  sees  a 
cowboy  saddling  up,  he  knows  the  rider  is  going 
out  to  get  the  harem.  During  the  interval  of  waiting 
he  trotvS  around  and  around  his  enclosure,  and  takes 
his  exercise  like  an  athlete  in  training.  This  disposi- 
tion of  the  Perclieron  to  be   active  and  to  keep 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  453 

himself  in  serviceable  condition  we  considered  to 
be  of  decided  economic  importance  on  the  ranch. 
Our  Percherons,  as  the  result  of  their  activity 
proved  surer  than  any  other  draft  horses  we  used. 
Our  Percheron  stallions  proved  to  be  the  most  pre- 
potent of  any  draft  sires  we  ever  used.  So  marked 
was  their  impress  on  the  range  mares  that  ihe 
Percheron  foals  could  be  picked  out  without  diffi- 
culty or  question.'^ 

Jericho  12609  (18827)  was  one  of  the  first  stal- 
lions used.  Included  in  the  importation  made  by 
Mr.  Huidekoper  in  1889,  he  was  a  high-class 
horse,  heavy-boned,  with  great  finish,  and  weighed 
over  a  ton.  He  was  a  horse  of  showyard  cal- 
iber in  use  on  a  ranch,  and  while  his  merits  seemed 
wasted  in  some  degree,  his  type  was  so  distinctive 
that  he  proved  an  extremely  valuable  sire  on  the 
purebred  mares,  as  well  as  on  the  grades.  One  of 
the  best  stallions  used  later  was  Eival  22471,  bred 
on  the  ranch  and  sired  by  Jericho.  Although 
range-bred  he  weighed  over  a  ton  and  was  a  beaut- 
ifully balanced,  deep-bodied,  heavy-boned,  sym- 
metrical horse  of  real  showyard  character.  Peer 
14379  was  another  range-bred  sire  of  much  the 
same  type,  but  smaller. 

The  Percheron  sires  used  by  the  Little  Missouri 
Horse  Co.  were  so  notably  successful  that  the  draft 
stallions  of  other  breeds  were  soon  discarded.  The 
colts  by  the  Percheron  sires  were  uniform  in  type, 
whether  from  large  or  small  mares,  and  were  so 
like  the  sires  in  conformation,  symmetry,  quality 
and  spirit  that  they  proved  to  be  durable,  saleable 


454  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

horses.  A  large  number  of  the  geldings  were  ship- 
ped to  the  breaking  and  fitting  stables  at  Conneaut 
Lake,  Pa.,  from  which  they  were  sold  to  ice  com- 
panies in  Boston  and  New  York.  These  horses  aver- 
aged about  1,550  pounds  each,  although  some  of 
them  weighed  more  than  1,800  pounds.  The  brand 
proved  a  handicap,  but  the  true  worth  of  the  horses 
overcame  this  difficulty. 

Here  was  a  powerful  influence  at  work  in  favor  of 
the  Percheron  breed  for  range  conditions.  Horse- 
men from  all  over  the  northwest  came  to  this  ranch 
to  study  the  results  obtained  and  to  purchase  range- 
bred  sires  for  use  on  their  own  grade  stocks.  The 
purebred  Percherons  proved  as  hardy  as  the  range- 
bred  grades.  The  Percheron  mares  lived  on  the 
range  both  summer  and  winter.  The  stallions  were 
taken  up  late  in  the  fall  and  fitted  for  spring  serv- 
ice. The  Percherons  proved  durable,  adaptable, 
hardy,  and  preeminently  suited  to  the  improvement 
of  the  light-weight  range-bred  mares.  No  other 
breeding  establishment  in  the  northwest  carried  out 
such  a  persistent  and  extended  campaign  along 
well-defined  lines  in  the  improvement  of  the  native 
horses.  The  fact  that  the  Huidekoper  family  pos- 
sessed an  eastern  establishment  where  the  horses 
could  be  broken  and  fitted  for  sale  was  another  fac- 
tor of  importance,  as  it  provided  for  the  placing  of 
these  range  horses  on  the  leading  eastern  city  mar- 
kets on  the  basis  of  their  true  value  as  draft  horses. 
The  brand  became  so  well  known  in  the  eastern 
markets   that   horses   of   this   type   and   breeding 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  455 

speedily  came  into  general  demand  in  spite  of  the 
prejudice  against  branded  western  horses. 

Work  effected  in  North  Dakota  by  the  Little  Mis- 
souri Horse  Co.  was  far-reaching,  resulting  to  a 
greater  extent  than  that  of  any  other  breeding  es- 
tablishment in  the  northwestern  states  in  popular- 
izing Percherons  for  use  on  the  range.  Great  credit 
must  be  given  to  A.  C.  Huidekoper,  who  founded 
this  enterprise  and  to  Earle  C.  Huidekoper,  who  as 
general  manager  after  1896  directed  the  systematic 
improvement  of  the  horses  bred  on  this  ranch.  Per- 
cheron  breeders  generally  have  known  little  of  the 
work  of  this  breeding  establishment,  and  it  has  been 
belittled  by  some  on  account  of  the  fact  that  some 
of  the  Percherons  raised  there,  which  subsequently 
passed  into  the  cornbelt  states  through  Fred  Pabst  's 
stud,  w^ere  lacking  in  size.  This  was  due  to  the  fact 
they  were  raised  under  range  conditions  and  was 
not  traceable  to  any  weakness  in  the  foundation 
stock.  The  story  of  the  work  of  the  Little  Missouri 
Horse  Co.  is  an  epic  of  the  northwest.  It  is  fitting 
that  due  credit  should  be  given  in  the  history  of  the 
Percheron  to  the  mighty  influence  wielded  by  this 
stud  in  the  development  of  Percheron  interests  on 
the  ranges  of  the  west. 

The  Eiverside  Eanch  Co.,  controlled  by  Cosgrove 
Bros,  of  St.  Paul,  carried  out  on  a  somewhat  smaller 
scale  the  same  kind  of  w^ork  that  had  been  done  by 
the  Little  Missouri  Horse  Co.  This  stud  was  closed 
out  just  before  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and 
reference  is  made  to  it  here  on  account  of  the  fact 


456  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

tliat  the  horses  bred  on  Riverside  Rancli  were  dis- 
tributed into  some  of  the  leading  studs  in  Canada 
and  their  descendants  are  to  be  found  today  among 
the  Percherons  owned  by  George  Lane,  D.  J.  Wylie 
and  Upper  Bros. 

White  Bros.,  C.  F.  White,  0.  0.  Ellison,  P.  A. 
Manseau  and  the  Coal  Harbor  Stock  Farm  were 
other  Nprtli  Dakota  Percheron  breeders  of  import- 
ance during  this  time.  None  of  them  bred  a  large 
number  of  Percherons,  but  they  did  produce  good 
horses  and  by  their  work  in  distributing  Percheron 
sires  aided  in  popularizing  the  breed  for  range 
liorse  improvement.  P.  A.  Manseau,  in  particular, 
although  a  small  breeder,  was  instrumental  in  en- 
couraging many  other  farmers  and  ranchmen  to 
engage  in  Percheron  breeding  in  a  small  way,  and 
many  of  the  studs  now  in  North  Dakota  owe  their 
existence  to  the  encouragement  which  he  gave. 

Progress  in  South  Dakota. — South  Dakota,  tenth 
in  Percheron  breeding,  had  a  total  of  171  breeders 
by  1910,  and  701  Percherons  bred  in  the  state  were 
foaled  during  this  period.  Alex.  Miller  was  the 
leading  South  Dakota  breeder  of  this  period,  but  his 
work  practically  ceased  in  1905.  During  this  half- 
decade,  however,  he  bred  54  Percherons  of  record, 
and  his  mares  which  passed  into  other  studs  have 
since  made  history.  Miller-bred  mares  have  won 
the  highest  honors  at  the  International.  La  Belle 
34982,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Brunelles  11415 
(12162),  was  the  champion  American-bred  mare  at 
the  International  in  1911,  and  is  today  one  of  the 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  457 

greatest  brood  mares  of  the  breed.  Mr.  Miller  was 
one  of  the  really  constructive  breeders  of  Percherons 
and  South  Dakota  suffered  a  loss  beyond  calculation 
when  he  found  it  necessary  to  curtail  his  Percheron 
breeding  operations. 

J.  J.  Fry,  James  E.  Warden,  W.  H.  Miller,  A.  D. 
McClelland  &  Son,  Hugh  McGlinchy  and  M.  A. 
Hommersand  were  other  leading  breeders  in  the 
state.  None  of  them  bred  a  large  number  of  Per- 
cherons, but  they  produced  horses  much  above  the 
average  in  the  state,  and  by  their  work  and  their 
exhibitions  at  local  shows  did  much  to  raise  the 
standard  of  the  draft  horses  in  the  state. 

Marked  improvement  in  the  common  horses  pro- 
duced in  South  Dakota  was  effected  during  this 
time,  and  the  average  selling  price  of  Dakota-bred 
geldings  advanced  decidedly  because  of  the  wide- 
spread distribution  of  Percheron  sires,  due  largely 
to  the  work  of  the  small  breeders. 

In  Other  States. — Michigan,  Missouri,  Pennsyl- 
vania, Virginia  and  California  were  the  eleventh, 
twelfth,  thirteenth,  fourteenth  and  tifteenth  states 
respectively  in  Percheron  breeding.  Colorado,  Mon- 
tana, Washington,  New  York,  Oklahoma  and  Oregon 
followed  in  the  order  named.  Michigan  bred  686 
Percherons  of  record  during  this  decade,  and  Ore- 
gon, the  last  named,  isi  credited  with  107  for  the 
same  period. 

Michigan. — In  Michigan  Henry  C.  Waldron,  A.  A. 
Palmer,  C.  Kern  and  John  Hanchett  were  the  leading 
breeders.    Mr.  Hanchett  in  particular  had  some  very 


458  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

good  mares  and  a  sire  of  unusual  excellence,  but  lie 
found  it  necessary  to  close  out  his  holdings  and  his 
entire  bunch  was  sold  to  A.  P^  Nave  of  Indiana. 
Progress  in  Michigan  was  relatively  slow  on  account 
of  the  fact  that  the  farmers  were  not  accustomed  to 
using  heavy  horses  and  did  not  realize  their  advan- 
tages over  lightweights.  The  persistent  work  of 
the  breeders  named  and  a  number  of  others  was 
effective,  however,  in  gradually  educating  them  to 
the  advantages  accruing  from  the  use  of  draft  horses, 
and  large  numbers  of  grade  drafters  and  many 
purebred  Percherons  have  been  shipped  into  the 
state  in  the  last  5  years. 

Missouri. — In  Missouri  A.  M.  Walker,  J.  W.  Barn- 
hart,  J.  F.  Eoelofson,  N.  S.  Cox  and  J.  M.  West 
were  the  leading  breeders.  Mr.  Walker  bred  almost 
as  many  as  his  three  leading  contemporaries.  Prog- 
ress in  Missouri  was  slow  because  Missouri  farmers 
were  more  familiar  with  mules  than  with  draft 
horses.  The  belief  that  draft  horses  would  not  stand 
the  hot  weather  was  another  retarding  factor.  Be- 
sides, scalpers  and  speculators  did  a  great  deal  of 
harm  by  purchasing  coarselegged  horses  which  were 
at  a  discount  in  draft  horse  breeding  sections  and 
disposing  of  them  to  men  in  Missouri,  w^io  on  ac- 
count of  their  unfamiliarity  with  good  draft  horses 
did  not  know  that  they  were  being  supplied  with 
inferior  stock.  The  certain  failure  of  these  stallions 
created  a  prejudice  against  all  draft  horses  which 
the  Percheron  breeders  in  Missouri  found  difficult 
to  overcome.     However,  their  persistent  work  in 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  459 

selecting  Percherons  of  good  type  and  quality,  well 
adapted  to  stand  hot  weather,  and  the  success  which 
they  themselves  achieved  in  using  Percherons  in 
Missouri,  even  during  the  hot  weather,  gradually 
had  its  influence  upon  farmers.  Within  the  last  8 
years  a  large  number  of  draft  horses,  both  grade 
and  purebred,  has  been  taken  into  Missouri,  par- 
ticularly into  the  northern  part.  While  no  studs  of 
national  reputation  have  been  developed  Avithin  the 
state,  some  ver^^  good  horses  have  been  bred  there 
and  the  number  of  breeders  has  been  very  greatly 
increased. 

Pennsylvania. — In  Pennsylvania  William  Paden, 
Bond  Bros.,  George  A.  Hogg  and  Powell  Bros,  were 
the  leading  breeders,  and  the  Little  Missouri  Horse 
Co.,  which  continued  in  a  small  way  after  closing 
out  its  holdings  in  North  Dakota,  also  bred  quite  a 
number  of  Percherons  in  Pennsylvania.  Sales  with- 
in the  state  Avere  limited,  however,  as  Pennsylvania 
farmers  in  general  have  been  slow  to  use  heavy 
horses.  A  disposition  prevailed  for  many  years  to 
buy  young  western  horses  in  thin  condition  for  farm 
work,  disposing  of  them  when  they  reached  matur- 
ity. This  policy  retarded  Percheron  breeding  and 
the  state  has  never  produced  as  many  horses  as 
actually  are  needed  for  its  own  use.  The  work  of 
the  few  breeders  located  in  Pennsylvania  did,  how- 
ever, favorably  influence  draft  horse  breeding  in 
the  state  and  the  number  of  draft  mares  kept  on 
Pennsylvania  farms  is  being  slowly  but  surely  in- 
creased. 


460  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Virginia. — In  Virginia  John  F.  Lewis,  E.  B.  White, 
D.  M.  Cloycl  and  Charles  Edgar  were  the  leading 
breeders  during  this  period  and  there  were  many 
other  smaller  breeders  scattered  throughout  the 
state.  Charles  Edgar's  stud  was  dispersed  about 
the  close  of  the  decade  and  most  of  the  Percherons 
owned  by  him  were  shipped  west.  The  John  F. 
Lewis  stud  was  dispersed  a  little  later,  but  most  of 
these  horses  were  distributed  in  Virginia  and  ad- 
joining states. 

0.  E.  Jordan. — Located  in  the  extreme  southwest- 
ern part  of  Virginia,  Mr.  Jordan  did  a  great  good 
for  Percheron  interests.  The  Jordan  family  has 
been  breeding  Percherons  persistently  since  early  in 
the  eighties,  having  used  some  very  excellent  sires, 
including  the  stallion  Victoria  24449  (42905),  sire 
of  the  champion  Pink.  While  none  of  the  breeders 
in  this  particular  district  has  bred  many  Per- 
cherons they  have  had  horses  of  very  superior 
type  and  with  perhaps  more  size  and  real  draft 
character  than  most  of  those  produced  in  Virginia. 
Mr.  Jordan's  operations  have  been  more  far-reaching 
and  have  exerted  a  more  favorable  influence  on 
draft  horse  breeding  than  the  number  of  Percherons 
he  has  bred  would  indicate. 

Selma  Farm. — E.  B.  White  began  breeding  Per- 
cherons in  1903,  and  today  his  stud  is  recognized 
as  one  of  the  high-class  breeding  establishments  of 
the  United  States.  The  Selma  Farm  stud  was 
started  in  1903  by  the  purchase  of  2  mares  from  the 
Hartman  Stock  Farm.     In  1904  the  two  first-prize 


:^:', 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  461 

mares  at  the  St.  Louis  Exposition,  Zaza  24618  and 
Fauvette  27223,  were  purchased  from  J.  C.  Robison 
of  Kansas.  Both  of  these  mares  were  daughters  of 
the  famous  brood  mare  Fine  13085  (26998),  im- 
ported by  W.  L.  Ellwood.  Mr.  White  made  addi- 
tional purchases  from  time  to  time,  seeking  to  obtain 
the  best  mares  possible.  He  imported  23  mares  from 
France,  a  number  of  which  were  noted  in  the  show- 
ring.  Besides  these  Mr.  White  purchased  some 
noted  American-bred  show  mares.  The  American- 
bred  mares  and  their  produce  proved  more  satis- 
factory in  the  stud  than  the  imported  mares.  Prac- 
tically all  the  best  horses  produced  at  Selma  Farm 
have  been  bred  from  the  mares  secured  in  this 
country. 

One  of  the  first  stallions  used  by  Mr.  White  was 
Sam  52055  (54508),  third-prize  winner  at  the  Inter- 
national in  1906 ;  he  left  some  good  colts,  which  have 
been  successful  sires.  Cassius  35839,  which  Mr. 
White  purchased  as  a  stallion  foal  at  the  side  of 
Zaza  in  1904,  was  also  used  to  some  extent.  Mr. 
White's  deteiTQination  to  have  the  best  Percherons 
possible  to  obtain  lead  him  to  purchase  Etudiant 
70802  (59291),  which  he  imported  in  1909.  Etudiant 
was  at  that  time  considered  one  of  the  best  individ- 
uals in  France  and  had  quite  a  reputation  as  a  sire. 
He  stood  about  17.1  high  and  was  deep-bodied,  mas- 
sive, well-proportioned,  and  of  drafty  type,  with 
extraordinarily  heavy  muscling  in  the  quarters  and 
haunches.  He  was  open  to  some  criticism  for  being 
somewhat  too  straight  in  his  hind  pasterns,  but  he 


462  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

was  a  horse  of  excellent  type  and  quality  and 
weighed  2,100  pounds.  Etudiant  had  beaten  Car- 
no  t  66666  (66666)  at  the  Percheron  society  show  at 
Nogent  in  1909  and  was  being  fitted  for  exhibition 
at  the  1909  International  Live  Stock  Exposition 
when  he  contracted  influenza  which  settled  in  his 
testicles  and  made  it  impossible  to  show  him.  This 
practically  ruined  him  for  breeding  purposes  for 
some  years  following.  He  begot  only  7  purebred 
colts  while  in  use  at  Selma  Farm  and  for  this  reason 
did  not  materially  influence  the  development  of  the 
stud. 

Dragon  52155  (63516),  champion  at  the  Interna- 
tional in  1907,  was  obtained  by  Mr.  White  to  suc- 
ceed Etudiant  and  results  from  his  services  have 
been  so  satisfactory  that  he  is  now  properly  ranked 
among  the  leading  sires  of  the  breed. 

Selma  Farm  is  one  of  the  few  breeding  establish- 
ments in  this  country  where  particular  emphasis 
has  been  placed  on  quality  and  uniformity  in  type 
and  conformation.  The  foundation  mares  selected 
were  the  best  that  could  be  obtained  in  France  or 
America,  and  while  numerous  disappointments 
were  encountered  in  securing  a  sire  of  the  first  rank, 
some  excellent  colts  were  got.  The  policy  of  re- 
taining the  best  animals  in  the  stud  and  eliminating 
all  that  did  not  come  up  to  the  desired  standard  in 
type  and  quality  has  given  Selma  Farm  one  of  the 
most  uniform  bands  of  Percherons  now  existing  in 
the  United  States.  During  the  period  considered 
this  stud  has  been  the  most  important  factor  in 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  463 

Percheron  breeding  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
United  States.  The  work  done  at  Selma  Farm  in- 
fluenced others  to  establish  studs  in  the  eastern 
states  and  many  small  breeding  establishments  there 
now  have  animals  tracing  to  this  stud. 

California. — In  California  no  studs  of  outstanding 
importance  were  developed  during  the  decade,  but 
J.  F.  Spaulding,  J.  AV.  Johnston,  Mrs.  Eschleman 
Sherman,  H.  T.  Liliencrantz  and  the  California 
Polytechnic  School  all  had  establishments  of  some 
consequence,  which  aided  in  the  improvement  of 
draft  horses  in  the  state.  Conditions  in  California, 
however,  have  not  been  favorable  to  the  develop- 
ment of  draft  horse  interests.  There  are  but  two 
seasons,  one  wet  and  one  dry,  and  the  long  dry  sea- 
son has  been  particularly  favorable  to  the  use  of 
tractors.  Besides  this,  the  tendency  to  operate 
California  faiTas  in  large  areas  devoted  to  small 
grain  lead  to  the  emplo^mient  of  large  numbers  of 
men  whose  knowledge  of  horsemanship  was  so  rudi- 
mentary as  to  make  it  unsafe  to  trust  them  with 
good  draft  mares.  Mule  teams  and  tractors  were 
mostly  used,  so  that  horse-breeding  interests  in 
California  have  been  greatly  retarded  and  it  is 
doubtful  whether  the  state  will  ever  come  to  the 
general  use  of  draft  horses  in  any  such  degree  as 
prevails  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Great  progress 
has  been  made  in  recent  years,  however,  and  more 
Percherons  are  being  purchased  than  ever  before. 

Colorado. — In  Colorado  A.  J.  Zang,  the  Yampa  Live 
Stock  Co.  and  Nels  Shuland  were  the  only  breeders 


464  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

with  any  considerable  number  of  Perclierons,  but 
there  were  many  small  breeders  who  bred  a  few. 
A.  J.  Zang  bought  some  good  mares  and  an  unusu- 
ally high-class  stallion  in  founding  his  stud  and  the 
horses  he  has  bred  have  been  very  favorably  com- 
mented upon  by  some  of  the  best  judges  in  the 
United  States.  The  stallion  Champagne  51743 
(65402),  used  in  the  stud  practically  from  its  incep- 
tion, proved  extremely  prepotent  and  his  colts  are 
characterized  by  uniformity  in  type  and  by  excellent 
quality.  The  persistent  work  done  in  this  stud  has 
aided  in  large  measure  all  Percheron-breeding  in- 
terests in  Colorado.  The  greatest  progress  in  this 
state,  however,  has  been  made  iri  grading  up  the 
native  range  horses,  in  which  Perclierons  have  had 
the  leading  part.  The  free  use  of  Percheron  stal- 
lions on  the  native  horses  in  Colorado  has  increased 
the  size,  improved  the  symmetry  and  conformation, 
and  brought  about  such  improvement  in  the  general 
type  and  quality  of  the  horses  that  they  are  worth 
from  two  to  three  times  as  much  as  the  native  stock 
from  which  they  sprang.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  range  horses  in  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Montana 
and  other  western  states,  carrying  from  two  to  three 
crosses  of  Percheron  blood,  have  weighed  from 
1,350  to  1,500  pounds  at  maturity,  even  when  raised 
under  range  conditions  without  grain  feed,  and  have 
made  admirable  heavy  artillery  horses  for  use  in 
the  European  war.  Hundreds  of  thousands  of  these 
good  western-bred  horses  have  been  purchased  and 
shipped  abroad  for  artillery  and  cavalry  uses.    The 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  465 

horses  produced  in  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Montana 
and  adjacent  states  by  the  use  of  Percheron  blood 
have  been  much  alike  in  type  and  conformation  and 
have  yielded  a  handsome  profit  to  the  ranchmen 
who  bred  them. 

Montana. — In  Montana  A.  A.  Sandahl,  the  Ball 
Eanch  Co.  and  John  F.  Forbis  were  the  leading 
breeders.  A.  A.  SandahPs  entire  stud  was  dis- 
persed about  the  close  of  this  decade,  the  majority 
of  the  horses  going  to  Oliver  Jenkins  of  California. 
No  stallions  of  outstanding  importance  were  used 
in  the  purebred  studs  in  this  state  during  the  decade 
and  the  chief  work  done  by  the  Percheron  breeders 
in  Montana  was  along  the  same  general  lines  as  in 
Colorado. 

Washington. — In  Washington  the  conditions  were 
intermediate  between  those  existing  in  California 
and  those  prevailing  in  Colorado  and  Montana.  Prog- 
ress was  slow  and  was  retarded  in  some  degree  by 
the  fact  that  some  inferior  horses  were  sold  at  long 
prices  by  speculators  and  scalpers  to  inexperienced 
men.  The  work  of  the  Percheron  breeders  in  Wash- 
ington has  aided  in  overcoming  this  and  in  recent 
years  better  horses  have  been  distributed  throughout 
the  state.  P.  W.  Cox  &  Sons,  The  Stooke  &  Amery 
Eanch  Co.  and  Fryer  Bros,  were  among  the  leading 
breeders  in  the  state  and  there  were  a  number  of 
small  breeding  establishments  which  have  since 
grown  to  some  importance. 

New  York. — No  developments  of  importance  took 
place  in  New  York  during  the  decade,  except  the 


466  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

establishment  of  the  Heart's  Delight  stud  at  Chazy, 
N.  Y.  This  stud,  founded  by  the  purchase  of  some 
very  high-class  mares,  has  gradually  increased  its 
Percheron  holdings  and  bids  fair  to  become  one  of 
the  most  important  breeding  establishments  in  the 
United  States,  when  the  quality  and  size  of  the  ani- 
mals produced  are  taken  into  consideration.  The 
earlier  stallions  used  were  not  particularly  success- 
ful as  sires,  but  Idlefonse  79307  (83004),  champion 
at  the  1913  International,  was  purchased  at  that 
show  and  is  getting  more  satisfactory  eolts  than  the 
sires  which  preceded  him. 

New  York  has  been  slow  in  increasing  its  invest- 
ments in  draft  horses ;  the  tendency  has  been  to  pur- 
chase work  horses  rather  than  produce  them.  Per- 
cheron breeders  scattered  throughout  the  state  are 
gradually  overcoming  this  and  it  is  probable  that 
New  York  will  in  the  future  produce  a  much  larger 
number  of  the  horses  needed  than  it  has  done  in 
the  past. 

About  all  that  occurred  in  most  of  the  other  states 
during  this  decade  were  the  establishment  and  grad- 
ual development  of  small  Percheron  studs,  many  of 
which  may  prove  to  be  of  importance  in  the  future. 

Growth  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America. — 
The  new  association,  organized  Dec.  23,  1902,  was 
known  at  that  time  as  the  American  Percheron 
Horse  Breeders  and  Importers  Association.  The 
capital  stock  was  originally  $10,000.  In  August, 
1905,  legal  action  was  taken  to  change  the  name  to 
The  Percheron  Society  of  America.     The  capital 


EdMcodemus  1  ^^  [  cJ.B.M^Laugfi/m 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  46? 

stock  was  increased  to  $20,000  in  February,  1907, 
and  in  July,  1908,  was  increased  to  $30,000.  By  the 
time  of  the  annual  meeting  in  November,  1910,  all 
capital  stock  had  been  sold,  and  there  were  many 
other  breeders  desirous  of  becoming*  members.  The 
capital  stock  was,  the'refore,  increased  to  $100,000, 
consisting  of  10,000  shares  of  $10  each. 

The  growth  of  the  association  was  extremely 
rapid,  the  membership  having  increased  to  almost 
2,900  separate  breeders,  between  December,  1902, 
and  Nov.  28, 1910.  In  February,  1911,  the  McLaugh- 
lin interests,  previously  referred  to,  were  absorbed 
by  the  Percheron  Society  of  America,  and  this 
brought  about  an  increase  of  approximately  100 
members.  The  rapid  expansion  of  Percheron  inter- 
ests, and  the  very  considerable  increase  in  number 
of  breeders  actually  owning  Percheron  mares  and 
engaged  in  the  production  of  Percheron  horses,  led 
to  an  extraordinary  increase  in  membership,  ex- 
celled by  but  one  association  in  America. 

On  Nov.  28,  1910,  there  were  3,000  shares  of  stock 
outstanding  in  the  hands  of  approximately  2,900 
members.  At  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year,  Oct.  31, 
1916,  less  than  six  years  later,  there  were  8,330  shares 
of  outstanding  stock  of  the  Percheron  Society  of 
America  in  the  hands  of  more  than  8,000  members. 
This  membership  was  scattered  over  the  entire 
United  States  and  Canada,  although  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Ohio  and  Kansas,  pioneers  in  Percheron  breeding, 
still  held  more  than  one-third  of  the  total  member- 
ship. 


468  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Of  registrations  made,  certificates  of  pedigree 
numbered  from  1  to  35,912  were  issued  under  the 
regime  of  S.  D.  Thompson,  Secretary.  The  numbers 
from  35,912  to  40,000  are  vacant.  Some  certificates 
above  35,912  bearing  S.  D.  Thompson's  signature 
were  issued  during  a  short  period  of  conflict,  but 
these  have  been  declared  null  and  void.  Certificates 
numbered  from  40,00  to  70,335  were  issued  under 
the  administration  of  George  W.  Stubblefield,  as 
Secretary.  There  are  some  vacant  numbers  in  this 
30,335,  due  to  the  system  of  numbering  in  vogue  at 
that  time.  Registrations  from  70,335  on  have  no  va- 
cant numbers.  All  certificates  of  pedigree  numbered 
above  70,335  to  date  have  been  issued  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Secretary  Dinsmore,  beginning  Aug. 
1,  1910.  Between  Aug.  1,  1910,  and  the  close  of  the 
fiscal  year,  Oct.  31,  1916,  approximately  58,000  pedi- 
grees were  issued.  The  fact  that  almost  58,000  pedi- 
grees were  issued  in  the  past  six  years,  while  the 
total  number  issued  in  the  preceding  34  years 
amounted  to  approximately  65,000,  illustrates  the 
tremendous  expansion  in  Percheron  breeding  that 
has  occurred  in  recent  years.  It  also  illustrates  the 
fact  that  progress  in  breeding  purebred  live  stock 
becomes  cumulative  as  the  years  roll  by. 

A  Canadian  Association. — The  Canadian  Perche- 
ron Horse  Breeders'  Association  completes  the  trio 
of  great  organizations  engaged  in  promoting  the 
Percheron  horse.  It  was  incorporated  under  the 
act  respecting  live  stock  record  associations  in 
Canada,    Dec.    3,    1907,    accepted    all    registrations 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  469 

made  by  the  Societe  Hippique  Percheronne  de 
France,  and  the  Percheron  Society  of  America, 
the  parent  organizations,  as  valid,  and  has  been 
actively  engaged  in  the  promotion  of  Percheron 
interests  since  that  time.  The  actual  registrations 
are  made  by  the  National  Live  Stock  Eecords  at 
Ottawa,  as  the  Canadian  registrations  are  made 
under  a  department  of  the  Canadian  government. 
The  inauguration  of  this  system  was  due  largely  to 
the  fact  that  breeders  were  few  and  widely  scat- 
tered, and  lacked  the  financial  organization  neces- 
sary to  properly  care  for  the  interests  of  many  breeds 
which  w^ere  represented  in  Canada  by  small  num- 
bers of  breeders.  This,  combined  with  the  paternal 
tendency  of  the  Canadian  Government,  led  to  the 
establishment  of  the  National  Live  Stock  Records, 
which  controls  the  registration  of  all  animals  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  Associations  of  breeders  exist, 
however,  for  each  breed,  and  said  associations  re- 
ceive a  certain  percentage  of  the  fees  paid  in  to  the 
National  Live  Stock  Records  for  promotion  work. 

W.  B.  Thorne,  of  Aldersyde,  Alberta,  was  elected 
as  first  President  of  the  Canadian  Percheron  Horse 
Breeders'  Association,  and  served  from  1907  to  1911. 
F.  R.  Pike,  of  High  River,  Alberta,  was  Secretary- 
Treasurer  from  1907  to  1915  inclusive.  R.  C.  Upper 
was  President  during  1912,  Geo.  Lane  in  1913,  J.  C. 
Brewery  in  1914  and  Geo.  Lane  during  the  years  1915 
and  1916. 

The  work  of  the  association  has  been  to  act  in  an 
advisory  capacity  on  matters  relating  to  the  regis- 


470  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

tration  of  Perclieron  horses  with  the  National  Live 
Stock  Records,  decide  upon  the  form  in  which  the 
stud  books  shall  be  published,  and  to  promote,  by 
advertising,  grants  of  special  prizes,  and  in  all  other 
proper  ways,  the  breeding  of  Percheron  horses  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  The  association  has  been 
handicapped  by  lack  of  funds,  and  the  breeders  gen- 
erally consider  that  the  plan  of  organization  fol- 
lowed in  the  United  States,  where  the  breeders  of 
each  kind  of  live  stock  control  their  own  associa- 
tions and  attend  to  the  registration  and  promotion 
work,  is  much  more  effective  in  promoting  breed 
interests. 

Percheron  Breeding  in  Canada. — While  some  Per- 
cheron breeding  had  been  done  in  the  Dominion  of 
Canada  during  the  '80 's,  as  noted  in  previous  chap- 
ters, relatively  little  progress  was  made  by  Perche- 
rons  until  after  1900.  The  population  of  Canada 
was,  prior  to  that  time,  largely  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  Dominion,  and  was  made  up  in  large  part  of 
settlers  from  Great  Britain  and  Scotland,  who,  nat- 
urally, brought  their  own  breeds  of  horses  with 
them,  had  well  settled  preferences  for  the  same, 
and  were  further  encouraged  to  handle  the  British 
breeds  rather  than  breeds  drawn  from  the  United 
States  or  the  continent  by  the  aggressive  action  of 
English  and  Scotch  live  stock  men  who  employed 
many  of  the  Canadian  stockmen  as  agents  in  fact,  if 
not  in  name,  by  furnishing  numbers  of  animals  on 
easy  terms,  to  be  sold  in  Canada.  This  naturally 
tied  the  Canadians  by  close  business   connections 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  471 

with  the  breeders  in  Great  Britain  and  Scotland  so 
that  it  was  extremely  difficult  for  other  breeds  to 
obtain  any  foothold  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  Do- 
minion. 

With  the  development  of  the  great  Northwest, 
Percherons  came  into  more  general  demand.  Many 
of  the  settlers  had  come  from  the  United  States  and 
were  well  acquainted  with  the  advantages  which 
Percherons  possessed.  Aside  from  this,  extensive 
traffic  in  live  stock  and  in  many  other  lines  of  busi- 
ness sprung  up  between  the  provinces  of  western 
Canada  and  the  western  part  of  the  United  States. 

The  first  extensive  breeder  of  Percherons  in  west- 
em  Canada  was  George  Lane,  of  the  Bar  U  Ranch. 
This  great  cattle  outfit  handled  large  numbers  of 
horses,  and  Mr.  Lane,  the  managing  partner,  says 
as  follows: 

^'When  I  first  came  to  Canada  from  Montana,  in 
1883,  to  take  charge  of  the  cattle  on  what  was  then 
the  newly  started  Bar  U  Ranch,  I  was  particularly 
impressed  by  the  absence  of  horses  such  as  we  had 
been  accustomed  to  in  Montana,  and  some  of  the 
other  western  states.  By  this  I  mean  horses  that 
were  able  to  do  ordinary  hauling  and  farm  work, 
and  that  also  had  the  endurance  and  the  speed 
necessary  for  making  long  trips  to  the  railroad,  to 
the  democrat  or  buckboard. 

"After  considering  the  matter  carefully,  and 
noting  conditions  in  different  localities,  I  came  to 
the  conclusion  that  it  was  Percheron  blood  that  was 
lacking  in  the  horses  of  western  Canada.  There 
were  some  excellent  horses,  particularly  those  sired 
by  Thoroughbred  stallions,  but  the  majority  of  the 


472  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

horses  were  not  equal  in  type  or  utility  to  tlie  Mon- 
tana Perclieron  grades  I  had  been  accustomed  to. 
Having  fully  made  up  my  mind  that  the  Percheron 
horse  was  what  was  required  in  western  Canada,  I 
set  to  work  as  soon  as  I  was  able,  to  try  and  obtain 
some  of  the  right  kind.  I  secured  and  used  some 
Percheron  stallions  on  our  grade  mares,  and  in  1898 
we  purchased,  from  James  Mauldin  of  Dillon,  Mont., 
his  entire  herd  of  Percherons,  known  as  the  Diamond 
0  bunch.  This  comprised  about  35  head  of  Perche- 
rons of  excellent  type,  conformation  and  quality. 
They  were  heavy  boned,  matronly  mares,  with  the 
best  of  underpinning,  and  these  mares  proved  to  be 
producers  of  the  kind  of  horses  which  breeders  are 
always  looking  for.  We  also  obtained  about  1200 
head  of  grade  Percherons  from  Mauldin  at  the  same 
time,  and  added  these  to  our  holdings  of  grade 
horses. 

''The  same  year  that  we  bought  the  Mauldin 
Percherons,  we  purchased  the  tops  from  the  River 
Side  Ranch  Company's  Percheron  stud.  These  were 
known  as  the  H.  F.  mares.  These,  added  to  the 
Diamond  0  mares  obtained  from  Mauldin,  gave  us 
the  foundation  of  our  present  Percheron  stud. 

''Among  the  earliest  and  best  sires  we  used  were 
Paris  12016  and  Presbourg  29982  (48649).  Both 
gave  us  good  results,  and  Presbourg  particularly 
proved  to  be  an  extremely  prepotent  sire  of  high- 
class  brood  mares.  Experienced  judges,  in  going 
over  the  band  of  mares  in  1914  with  a  view  to  se- 
lecting the  brood  mares  of  the  best  type,  picked  on 
more  Presbourg  mares  than  mares  of  any  other 
breeding,  and  these  matrons  have  been  noted  as 
among  the  best  producers  in  our  stud.'' 

In  1906  Mr.  Lane  went  to  France  and  selected  a 
few  mares.    He  subsequently  made  importations  in 


THE  NEW  CENTURY  DAWNS  AUSPICIOUSLY  473 

1908,  1909  and  1910,  importing  more  than  100  head 
of  the  best  mares  he  could  find  in  France,  and  se- 
lected the  best  stock  sires  he  could  possibly  obtain. 
The  policy  has  been  to  keep  practically  all  of  the 
mares  produced,  and  the  stud  now  numbers  consider- 
ably over  400  head  of  purebred  Percherons,  the 
largest  single  band  of  Percheron  horses  owned  in 
the  world.  Halifax  60328  (75867),  Pinson  57211 
(63122)  and  Americain  61316  (63422)  are  the  chief 
sires  now  in  service. 

The  Percherons  produced  at  the  Bar  U  and  Na- 
maka  ranches  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Lane  are 
of  superior  type  and  quality.  So  good  a  judge  as 
James  Fletcher  frankly  stated  that  he  did  not  be- 
lieve any  other  breeder  had  20  mares  that  were  equal 
to  the  20  best  mares  in  this  stud.  Louis  Aveline, 
who  visited  the  stud  in  1915,  also  stated  that  the 
Percherons  being  produced  on  these  ranches  were 
equal  to  any  produced  in  France,  and  added  that 
he  did  not  believe  it  would  be  possible  to  select  from 
any  one  establishment  in  France,  at  the  present  time, 
three  stallions  equal  to  the  three  stallions  then  in 
service. 

Careful  management  and  intelligent  feeding  have 
enabled  Mr.  Lane  to  produce  Percherons  of  as  much 
size  as  any  produced  in  the  combelt  states.  Over 
90  foals  were  raised  in  1915,  and  117  foals  were 
raised  in  1916.  Men  who  have  watched  the  devel- 
opment of  this  stud  for  years  are  outspoken  in  their 
admiration  of  the  Percherons  produced.  Present  in- 
dications are  that  this  breeding  establishment  will 


474  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

make  a  succe-ss,  financially  and  otherwise,  of  the 
productions  of  Perclierons  on  a  large  scale,  as  the  de- 
mand for  the  horses  produced  is  already  in  excess 
of  the  supply,  and  profitable  prices  are  being  paid 
for  the  horses  in  cash  right  at  the  ranches.  Rela- 
tively little  advertising  has  been  done,  and  no  mares 
have  been  sold  except  in  small  bands  to  Canadian 
breeders  who  desired  to  make  a  start  in  Percherons, 
but  in  spite  of  this,  it  has  not  been  possible,  to  date, 
to  produce  nearly  as  many  stallions  as  the  trade 
called  for. 

W.  B.  Thome  of  Aldersyde,  Alberta,  and  S.  A. 
Davenport  of  Acme,  Alberta,  are  very  aggressive 
breeders  who  have  produced  Percherons  of  show- 
yard  caliber,  and  who  have  been  particularly  ag- 
gressive in  promoting  Percheron  interests  in  the 
Dominion. 

J.  C.  Drewry  established  one  of  the  larger  Per- 
cheron studs  about  1907  or  1908,  purchased  some 
of  the  best  to  be  found  in  the  United  States,  and 
had  bred  colts  of  very  high-class  character,  achieving 
notable'  success  in  the  showring,  but  his  career 
was  cut  short  by  his  untimely  death  in  1914.  While 
the  stud  is  still  being  carried  on  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  estate,  the  loss  of  Mr.  Drewry,  who  was 
a  good  advertiser  and  particularly  skillful  in  pro- 
moting Percheron  interests  through  the  public  press, 
has  been  seriously  felt  by  his  fellow  breeders. 

There  are  numerous  other  smaller  breeders  in 
northwestern  Canada,  but  it  is  impossible  to  discuss 
all.     Great  credit  must  go  to  the  Percheron  breed- 


THE    NEW    CENTURY    DAWNS    AUSPICIOUSLY  475 

ers  of  western  Canada  for  their  aggressive  campaign 
in  behalf  of  Percheron  interests,  confronted  with 
hostile  sentiment.  They  have  made  notable  progress, 
and  the  breed  is  today  the  most  popular  one  in  Al- 
berta, and  is  making  very  rapid  headway  in  Sas- 
katchewan and  Manitoba. 


CHAPTER  XIIL 

DISTRIBUTION  AND  STATISTICS  OF  PRODUC- 
TION IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  most  accurate  guide  to  the  distribution  of 
Percherons  in  the  United  States,  so  far  as  purebred 
breeding:  stock  is  concerned,  is  believed  to  be  found 
in  an  analysis  of  the  registrations  made  in  the  Per- 
clieron  Society  of  America  year  by  year.  While  this 
gives  only  the  number  of  horses  recorded  from  each 
state  during  the  year  under  consideration,  it  affords 
accurate  knowledge  as  to  the  distribution  of  pure- 
bred mares  throughout  the  United  States,  and  it  is 
a  matter  of  record  in  the  reports  of  the  stallion  en- 
rollment boards  that  the  Percheron  stallions  are  dis- 
tributed in  practically  the  same  proportion. 

The  Percheron  Society  of  America  recorded  9,044 
Percherons  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  Oct.  31, 
1916;  all  but  140  of  these  were  American-bred.  Illi- 
nois, which  has  occupied  front  rank  in  Percheron 
breeding  since  the  beginning,  stood  first  with  2,014 
head,  or  22.27  percent  of  the  total.  Iowa,  which  from 
earliest  days  has  followed  closely  after  Illinois, 
ranked  second  with  1,772  registrations,  or  19.59 
percent  of  the  total.  Ohio,  the  state  to  which  the 
first  Percherons  were  imported,  was  third  with  747 
registrations,  or  8.26  percent  of  the  total.    Kansas, 

476 


Illinois  had  in  1916  1,709  members  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America. 
The  total  number  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  Illinois  between  Nov.  1,  1915, 
and  Oct.  31,  1916,  was  2.014.  The  number  appearing  in  each  County  is  the 
number  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  that  County  between  Nov.  1,  1915,  and 
Oct.    31,    1916,    inclusive. 

477 


478 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PEKCHERON  HORSE 


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the  leading  Percheron-breeding  center  west  of  the 
Missouri  River,  stood  fourth,  with  653  head  recorded 
during  the  year,  7.22  percent  of  the  total.  Nebraska 
came  fifth,  with  466  h^ad,  or  5.15  percent;  Wiscon- 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  479 

sin,  sixth,  witli  414,  or  4.58  percent;  Indiana,  seventh, 
with  367,  or  4.06  percent,  and  Minnesota,  eighth,  with 
347,  or  3.84  percent. 

The  rank  of  the  other  states  was  as  follows : 

Regis-    Percent  Reg^is-    Percent 

trations  of  total                                             trations    of  total 

South  Dakota,  9tli 336  3.72  Tennessee.  28th 12  .13 

North  Dakota.  10th 298  3.30  Maryland.  29th 11  .22 

Missouri,  nth 251  2.78  New  Jersey.  30th 8  .09 

Pennsylvania,  12th 211  2.33  Arizonalqic*                        7  n8 

Michig-an.  13th 180  1.99  Nevada /'^'''^ '  •"" 

Montana.  14th 152  1.68  Delaware      X-y^A                 r              or 

Oklahoma,  15th 134  1.48  Connecticut)*^"" ^  -^ 

California,  16th 99  1.10  Massachusetts  I.  .,oj             .  p.. 

Virginia,  17th 91  1.01  Maine                 )*'''" "*  •"* 

New  York,  18th 79  .86  Vermont               l^.ti,       q  en 

Idaho.  19th 67  .74  New  Hampshire  J '^"'^^••-  **  -"^ 

Oregon.  20th 55  ,61  Georgia               ^ 

Washington,  21st 48  .53  Kentucky            [3.5th\...  2  .02 

Colorado,  22d 47  .52  North  Carolina-* 

Texas,  23d      32  .36  Arkansas       . 

Canada,  24th 30  .33  Alabama        | 

Utah,  25th.         28  .31  New  Mexico  )■  36th 1  .01 

Wyoming.  26th.         25  .28  District  of      I 

West  Virginia.  27th 22  .24               Columbia^ 

The  tendency  for  the  breeding  of  any  class  of  live 
stock  to  become  concentrated  in  districts  where  it 
was  first  introduced  and  where  its  merits  are  most 
widely  known  is  indicated  in  this  data.  Illinois  and 
Iowa  contributed  41.86  percent  of  the  total  registra- 
tions recorded  during  the  year,  while  more  than  half 
of  the  Percherons  recorded  were  raised  in  the  first 
three  states — Illinois,  Iowa  and  Ohio. 

The  first  eight  states  contributed  74.97  percent  of 
the  total  number  of  Percherons  registered  during 
the  year,  while  all  the  other  states  combined  con- 
tributed only  25  percent.  Nevertheless,  the  wide  dis- 
tribution of  Percherons  in  the  United  States  is 
shown  by  the  fact  that  they  were  recorded  during 
the  year  from  45  states,  counting  the  District 
of  Columbia  and    Canada,     The   number   recorded 


480 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 


from  Canada,  however,  was  but  a  mere  fraction  of 
the  total.  Most  of  the  Percherons  in  Canada  are 
recorded  in  the  Canadian  Percheron  Stud  Book;  the 


Ohio  had  in  1916  779  members  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America.  The 
total  number  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  Ohio  between  Nov;.  1,  1915,  and 
Oct.  31,  1916,  was  747.  The  number  appearing  in  each  County  is  the  number 
of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  that  county  between  Nov.  1,  1915,  and  Oct.  31, 
1916,    inclusive. 

ones  registered  in  the  Percheron  Society  of  America 
are  those  selected  to  compete  for  special  prizes 
offered  by  the  Percheron  Society  of  America  in  Ca- 


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DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION 


483 


nadian  shows,  or  those  which  have  been  recorded 
here  to  permit  of  their  exportation  to  the  United 
States,  if  opportunity  arises. 


Wisconsin  had  in  1916  366  members  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America. 
The  total  number  of  Percheron  hcrses  recorded  from  Wisconsin  between  Nov,  1, 
1915,  and  Oct.  31,  1916,  was  414.  The  number  appearing  in  each  County  is  the 
number  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  that  County  between  Nov.  1,  1915, 
and   Oct.    31,    1916,    inclusive. 

Another  indication  of  the  widespread  distribution 
of  Percheron  breeding  is  the  fact  that  the  9,044  reg- 


LA   GRANGE 
13 


STEUBEN 
5 


Indiana  had  in  1916  412  members  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America.  The 
total  number  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  Indiana  between  Nov.  1,  1915, 
and  Oct.  31,  1916,  was  367.  The  number  appearing  in  each  County  is  the  number 
of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  that  County  between  Nov.  1,  1916,  and  Oct. 
31,    1916,    inclusive. 

484 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION 


485 


istrations  were  made  by  4,347  breeders,  an  average 
of  only  about  2  per  breeder.     This   means   that    a 


Minnesota  had  in  1916  397  members  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  America. 
The  total  numher  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  Minnesota  between  ITov. 
1,  1915,  and  Oct.  31,  1916,  was  347.  The  numher  appearing  in  each  County  is 
the  numher  of  Percheron  horses  recorded  from  that  County  between  Nov.  1,  1915, 
and  Oct.   31,   1916,   inclusive. 

great  many  breeders  recorded  but  one  animal,  as 
many  others  recorded  from  5  to  10  head  each. 

In  Illinois  the  breeding  of  Percherons  is  concen- 


486  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

trated  very  largely  in  10  counties  in  the  north-cen- 
tral part  of  the  state,  contiguous  to  each  other. 
These  10  counties  contributed  more  than  53  percent 
of  the  Percherons  recorded  by  Illinois  breeders  dur- 
ing the  year.  The  counties,  in  order  of  rank  and 
with  the  number  of  horses  recorded,  are  as  follows : 
McLean,  186;  LaSalle,  168;  Iroquois,  125;  Living- 
ston, 109 ;  Tazewell,  109 ;  Fulton,  87 ;  Ford,  82 ;  Mc- 
Donough,  76 ;  Bureau,  70,  and  Woodford  County,  62. 
This  represents  a  total  of  1,074  registrations  from 
the  10  counties,  out  of  2,014  for  the  entire  state. 

In  Iowa  the  leading  counties  are  more  widely  scat- 
tered. The  first,  second,  fourth,  sixth,  seventh  and 
tenth  counties  are  all  located  in  the  southeastern 
part  of  the  state,  practically  contiguous  to  each 
other,  while  the  third  county  is  in  the  central  part 
of  the  state,  the  fifth  is  in  the  northeast-central  por- 
tion, and  the  ninth  is  in  the  northwest  corner.  The 
first  10  counties  in  Iowa  contributed  only  33.8  per- 
cent of  the  registrations  from  the  state.  Another 
fact  which  shows  how  much  more  widely  Percherons 
are  scattered  in  Iowa  than  in  Illinois  is  that  they 
were  recorded  from  98  out  of  the  99  counties  in 
Iowa  during  the  year,  but  from  only  81  out  of  the 
102  counties  in  Illinois.  The  10  leading  Iowa  coun^ 
ties,  with  the  number  of  registrations,  are  as  follows  : 
Henry,  97;  Keokuk,  75;  Story,  66;  Jefferson,  63; 
Black  Hawk,  63 ;  Van  Buren,  55 ;  Johnson,  54 ;  Page, 
46;  Cherokee,  43,  and  Lee,  37. 

In  Ohio  the  10  leading  Percheron-producing  coun- 
ties, with  the  number  of  registrations  from  each  dur- 


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487 


488  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

ing  the  year  are  as  follows :  Delaware,  81 ;  Wayne, 
42;  Hardin,  31;  Allen,  30;  Madison,  28;  Miami,  26; 
Morrow,  26 ;  Marion,  23 ;  Van  Wert,  19,  and  Williams 
County,  17.  The  first,  fifth,  seventh  and  eighth  coun- 
ties are  practically  in  one  body  in  the  central  part  of 
the  state,  but  the  others  are  scattered  from  the  norths 
eastern  to  the  w^estern  part,  without  any  particular 
concentration  of  breeding  in  any  one  district.  Dela- 
ware is  far  in  the  lead  of  all  other  counties  in  Ohio 
in  the  number  of  Percherons  raised,  but  Percheron 
breeding  is  by  no  means  so  general  as  in  Iowa,  as 
registrations  were  made  from  only  75  of  the  88  coun- 
ties in  the  state. 

The  Percheron-breeding  districts  in  the  other  lead- 
ing states  are  clearly  shown  by  the  maps  accompany- 
ing this  analysis.  The  significant  fact  is  that  Per- 
cheron breeding  has  expanded  most  rapidly  in  those 
communities  where  the  breed  has  been  longest  known 
— eloquent  testimony  to  the  wearing  qualities  of  the 
breed.  The  endurance,  adaptability  and  money- 
making  qualities  of  the  Percheron  have  won  it  life- 
long friends  wherever  farmers  have  had  an  oppor- 
tunity^ to  become  acquainted  with  the  sterling  worth 
of  the  world's  most  popular  draft  breed. 

Percherons  in  the  South. — Touching  the  matter  of 
the  adaptibility  of  the  Percheron  to  the  conditions 
prevailing  in  the  Southern  States  we  have  asked  for 
expressions  of  opinion,  based  on  observation  and 
experience,  from  two  well-known  animal  husband- 
men connected  respectively  with  the  Texas  and 
Georgia  agricultural  colleges. 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF   PRODUCTION  489 

The  evidence  of  Prof.  John  C.  Burns  of  College 
Station,  Tex.,  is  as  follows : 

^'The  Percheron  is  decidedly  the  most  popular 
draft  breed  in  the  south,  though  it  still  lacks  much  of 
being  so  popular  as  horses  of  the  light  type.  A  large 
majority  of  southern  farmers  have  long  practiced  a 
system  of  farming,  cotton  raising,  which  permits  of 
the  use  of  light-weight  teams,  both  horses  and  mules, 
to  good  advantage.  This  accounts  largely  for  the 
preference  that  is  given  to  horses  of  the  light  type. 
Of  course,  prejudice  also  has  played  an  important 
part  in  keeping  down  the  popularity  of  draft  horses, 
the  general  belief  being  that  they  can  not  withstand 
the  hot  climate. 

^'I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  observe  the  Perche- 
ron under  many  different  conditions  in  Texas.  I  have 
seen  registered  stallions  at  the  head  of  bands  of 
range  mares;  stallions  restricted  to  the  stall  and  pad- 
dock, that  were  being  offered  for  public  service;  reg- 
istered mares  with  foals  at  side;  weanling,  year- 
lings, and  two-year-olds  in  the  process  of  develop- 
ment on  the  farm;  and  mares  and  geldings  at  work  in 
the  field  and  on  the  road.  Wherever  these  animals 
were  being  given  the  care  and  attention  to  be  expect- 
ed from  any  good  horseman,  they  were  thriving  and 
proving  satisfactory.  The  fact  that  the  period  of 
hot  weather  in  the  south  is  long  and  the  heat  often 
severe  makes  it  even  more  important  here  than  in 
the  north  that  Percheron  mares  and  geldings  be 
worked  by  intelligent  teamsters  who  are  good  care- 
takers. From  the  middle  of  September  until  the 
middle  of  May,  as  a  rule,  no  better  teams  could  be 
desired,  and  during  this  period  they  easily  excel 
teams  of  light  horses  and  light  mules  in  much  of 
the  work  of  the  farm.  But  during  the  remaining 
four  months  of  hot  weather  extreme  care  must  be 


490  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

exercised  to  prevent  them  from  becoming  over- 
heated. Nevertheless,  one  finds  the  general  health 
of  Percherons  in  the  south  equally  as  good  as  that 
of  light  horses. 

^'More  Percheron  horses  are  needed  in  the  south, 
and  there  are  two  important  reasons  why  they  are 
needed: 

"First,  diversified  farming  is  rapidly  gaining 
headway.  More  feed  crops  are  being  raised.  Such 
a  system  of  farming  calls  into  use  heavier  farm  im- 
plements and  machinery,  the  handling  of  which  re- 
requires  heavier  teams. 

^  ^  Second,  the  south  has  long  given  much  attention 
to  the  raising  of  mules,  animals  that  have  proved  so 
well  adapted  to  the  work  on  southern  farms.  The 
great  majority  of  the  mules,  however,  are  the  prod- 
ucts of  light  mares  and  are  therefore  themselves 
generally  small  and  of  the  class  known  as  cotton 
mules.  Even  in  the  past  there  has  rarely  been  a 
time  when  large,  smooth-turned  mules  were  not  in 
demand  at  good  prices,  while  light  mules  have  often 
been  a  drug  on  the  market.  The  changing  to  diversi- 
fied farming  is  making  the  heavy  mule  more  neces- 
sary and  more  in  demand  than  ever  and  in  the 
production  of  such  mules  Percheron  blood  must  play 
an  important  part.  By  the  use  of  good  Percheron 
stallions  excellent  mule  foundations  can  be  obtained 
by  grading  up  from  native  or  Spanish  mares  and 
from  mares  of  Saddle,  Thoroughbred  and  Standard- 
bred  breeding.  More  mares  that  possess  size  and 
draft  conformation  must  be  used,  if  large,  high- 
priced  mules,  capable  of  doing  the  heavy  work  of 
the  farm,  are  to  be  produced. 

"Feeding  Percheron  horses  in  the  south  does  not 
differ  greatly  from  feeding  them  in  other  sections 
of  the  country.    Oats  here,  as  elsewhere,  is  one  of  the 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  491 

best  feeds  that  can  be  used.  Combined  with  a  little 
wheat  bran  oats  is  especially  desirable  for  feeding 
during  hot  weather.  During  the  winter  com  may 
be  used  extensively,  especialy  for  mature  work  ani- 
mals. Kafir,  milo,  and  f eterita  make  excellent  feeds, 
but,  like  corn,  they  serve  best  in  the  ration  during 
the  cold  months.  Almost  any  of  the  good,  clean, 
well-cured  grass  hays,  such  as  Bermuda,  Johnson 
grass,  Sudan  grass,  sorghum,  or  prairie  hay  serves 
well  as  roughage.  Legume  hay,  especially  alfalfa, 
is  also  often  fed  as  a  part  of  the  roughage  with  good 
results. 

"The  South  needs  more  Percheron  horses.  But 
here  let  it  be  said  that  a  kind  vastly  different  from 
the  majority  that  has  been  sold  here  is  needed.  The 
southern  states  have  been  a  dumping  ground  for 
inferior,  unsound  stallions  that  have  been  driven 
from  the  northern  states  as  a  result  of  the  opera- 
tion in  those  states  of  stallion  license  laws.  The 
farmers  of  the  southern  states  must  awake  to  this 
fact,  exercise  better  judgment  in  purchasing  stal- 
lions, and,  if  necessary,  have  laws  enacted  for  their 
protection.  A  few  inferior,  unsound  stallions  can  do 
more  damage  in  a  short  time  to  the  progress  of  the 
breed  than  several  good  stallions  can  overcome  in 
many  years.  Percheron  horses  that  are  typical  of 
the  breed  are  sound  and  of  good  conformation,  qual- 
ity, style,  and  action.  Such  horses  will  pave  the  way 
for  the  breed's  more  rapid  progress  and  greater 
popularity  in  the  south  as  nothing  else  will." 

Prof.  Milton  P.  Jarnagin  of  the  Georgia  State  Col- 
lege of  Agriculture  says: 

' '  In  1906  we  began  shipping  grade  Percheron  mares 
from  the  middle  west  to  Tennessee.  Up  to  that  time 
there  had  been  strenuous  objection  in  the  south  to 
any  of  the  draft  breeds,  and  the  first  mares  which 


492  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

we  shipped  carried  but  a  small  infusion  of  draft 
blood.  It  was  soon  observed  that  these  mares  of 
more  weight  gave  a  better  account  of  themselves  as 
farm  workers  than  the  lighter  mares  had  done.  Even 
after  the  first  shipment  it  was  evident  that  farmers 
were  willing  to  pay  more  money  for  the  heavier  ones 
than  for  medium-weight  mares.  In  1910  we  shipped 
in  a  carload  of  high  grade  Percheron  mares.  These 
sold  well  and  developed  into  valuable  breeding  and 
work  mares.  In  1911  I  purchased  6  registered 
mares  in  central  Illinois.  They  have  been  regular 
breeders  and  good  farm  workers  in  Tennessee.  Since 
1911  we  have  been  carrying  grade  and  purebred 
Percheron  mares  on  the  farm  of  the  Georgia  State 
College  of  Agriculture.  These  mares  have  also  done 
satisfactory  work  and  have  proved  regular  breeders. 
We  have  demonstrated  conclusively  that  with  rea- 
sonable supervision  the  negro  will  make  a  satis- 
factory teamster  with  grade  or  purebred  mares. 

^ '  During  six  weeks  of  the  hottest  summer  months 
the  mules  are  able  to  do  but  little  more  work 
than  the  mares.  We  work  our  mares  regularly 
through  the  entire  season,  but  during  the  hottest 
weather  they  are  given  the  lightest  work  and  the 
mules  the  heaviest  work.  For  the  other  ten  and 
a  half  months  of  the  year  our  mares  do  more  work 
than  the  mules  do. 

^^I  feel  positive  that  we  will  work  mules  in  the 
cottonbelt  permanently.  However,  there  is  a  strong, 
growing  demand  for  homeraised  mules,  and  even  the 
most  skeptical  farmer  is  willing  to  admit  that  the 
Percheron  stallion  is  the  best  'grand-daddy'  a  mule 
ever  had.  In  other  words,  there  is  a  broadening  de- 
mand for  Percheron  stallions  to  sire  mule  mares. 
The  user  of  mules  knows  that  the  massive,  full-made, 
strong-boned  mule  is  more  durable  and  more  salable 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  493 

than  the  over-refined  mule  with  a  Thoroughbred  or 
trottingbred  dam.  Kegardless  of  whether  the  dam 
ultimately  is  used  to  produce  horses  or  mule  mares, 
he  is  clamoring  for  brood  mares  showing  a  strong- 
infusion  of  draft  blood. 

^'The  complaints  that  have  been  raised  against  the 
Percheron  from  the  southern  territory  have  been 
made  as  a  result  of  inferior  counterfeits  being 
dumped  into  the  southern  states.  Quality,  finish  and 
courage  should  be  dominant  features  in  all  Perch- 
eron horses  sent  to  the  south.  Wherever  animals 
filling'  these  requirements  have  gone  they  have  made 
friends  for  this  great  breed  of  horses. '  ^ 

Horse  Stock  of  the  United  States. — The  estimates 
of  the  Department  of  Agriculture  for  Jan.  1,  1917, 
show  21,126,000  horses  on  farms  in  the  United  States, 
with  an  average  valuation  of  $102.94,  or  a  total  val- 
uation of  $2,174,629,000,  and  4,639,000  mules  with 
an  average  valuation  of  $118.32,  or  a  total  valuation 
of  $548,864,000. 

The  1910  census,  taken  June  1,  1910,  gives  a 
total  of  1,731,982  colts  foaled  in  1909,  or,  as  we  would 
class  them,  yearlings.  While  the  estimates  of  the 
Department  of  Agriculture  indicate  that  there  has 
been  some  falling  off  in  the  production  of  horses 
within  the  past  6  years,  it  seems  safe  to  assume  that 
we  are  producing  at  least  1,500,000  foals  annually 
which  come  to  at  least  one  year  of  age.  The  1910 
census  also  shows  that  of  the  total  number  of  farms 
in  the  United  States  only  16.1  percent  reported 
yearlings,  from  which  we  may  safely  conclude  that 
only  16  percent  of  the  farmers  in  the  United  States 
are  producing  horses. 


494  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Of  the  yearlings  on  farms  in  1910,  21.5  percent 
were  in  the  east-north-central  section,  38.4  percent 
in  the  west-north-central  and  11.1  percent  in  the 
west-south-central.  That  is  to  say,  a  fraction  more 
than  70  percent  of  the  yearlings  reported  by  the 
census  of  1910,  which  is  unquestionably  the  most 
accurate  source  of  data  we  have,  were  in  these 
three  sections.  The  states  comprising  the  east- 
north-central  section  are  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois, 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin.  Those  in  the  west-north- 
central  are  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Missouri,  North  Da- 
kota, South  Dakota,  Nebraska  and  Kansas,  and  in 
the  west-south-central  Arkansas,  Louisiana,  Okla- 
homa and  Texas. 

Percherons  the  Leading  Draft  Type. — The  most 
reliable  estimates  which  Ave  have  been  able  to  ob- 
tain indicate  that  there  are  probably  about  150,000 
purebred  drafters  in  this  country  at  this  date.  This 
figure  includes  all  ages.  Of  this  total  it  is  estimated 
that  approximately  90,000  are  Percherons.  In  other 
words,  our  most  reliable  sources  of  information 
indicate  that  nearly  two-thirds  of  the  purebred  draft 
horses  in  America  are  Percherons. 

The  last  analysis  made  of  the  stallion  enrollment 
boards'  reports  in  the  10  leading  horse  producing 
states  shows  that  64  percent  of  the  total  number 
of  purebred  draft  stallions  are  Percherons.  The 
figures  from  other  states  which  have  since  made 
reports  on  stallions  in  service,  particularly  Kansas 
and  Indiana,  increase  the  total  percentage  of  Perch- 
eron  sires,  so  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that  at  least  66 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OP    PRODUCTION  495 

percent  of  all  purebred  draft  stallions  in  use  in  the 
United  States  are  Perclierons. 

War  Exports. — Our  exports  since  the  great  Euro- 
pean war  began  aggregated  for  the  27  months  end- 
ing Dec.  1st,  1916,  774,947  horses  and  255,014  mules, 
totalling  in  value  $216,941,912.  The  strongest  de- 
mand has  been  for  artillery  and  transport  horses, 
which  have  brought  from  $35  to  $60  per  head  more 
than  cavalry  horses.  Men  who  have  been  in  particu- 
larly close  touch  with  the  work  of  the  inspectors 
declare  that  at  least  75  percent  of  the  artillery  and 
transport  horses  have  been  grade  Percherons.  How 
well  these  horses  have  met  the  foreign  demand  is 
attested  in  the  leading  editorial  of  the  London 
^^Live  Stock  Journal''  for  Nov.  17, 1916,  from  which 
we  quote: 

^'In  the  meantime  the  Percheron  type  has  made 
many  friends  in  England.  The  breed,  mostly  rep- 
resented, it  is  true,  by  'grade'  horses  as  yet,  is  firmly 
established  in  the  hearts  and  minds  of  the  responsi- 
ble officers  of  the  British  army.  Go  where  one  will 
in  army  circles,  he  hears  nothing  but  praise  for  a 
horse  that  has  proved  his  sterling  worth  in  artil- 
lery. East  and  west,  north  and  south  the  story  is 
the  same;  the  half-bred  Percheron  has  filled  many 
wants  and  has  proved  himself  a  gentleman  of  a 
horse,  as  well  as  a  willing  and  never  failing  worker. 
AYe  shall  have  a  further  opportunity  of  stating  how 
pleased  army  men  are  with  the  type,  but  for  the 
moment  our  chief  concern  lies  in  stating  the  facts 
of  the  case  in  connection  with  the  recent  importa- 
tion of  two  purebred  Percheron  stallions  and  some 
brood  mares. 


496  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

**It  is  the  intention  of  their  owners  to  nse  these 
horses  in  producing  reliable  artillery  horses  from 
Shire  and  Clydesdale  mares,  but  they  will  also  breed 
true  to  type,  using  the  several  Percheron  mares 
accompanying  the  stallions,  and  so  lay  the  founda- 
tion for  an  English  Percheron  Stud  Book.  Let  it 
be  added  that  this  desire  to  try  out  the  Percheron 
in  England  is  not  an  idle  whim  or  passing  fancy. 
It  is  a  thorough  determination,  brought  about  as 
the  result  of  sincere  conviction  on  the  part  of  army 
authorities  that  the  half-bred  Percheron  fills  the 
bill  best  of  the  many  types  bought  for  us  the  world 
over  since  the  outbreak  of  the  war." 

One  point  clearly  brought  out  by  the  developments 
of  the  trade  in  the  past  2  years  is  that  the  United 
States  is  the  only  nation  with  a  surplus  of  horses 
ranging  from  1,200  to  1,500  pounds  or  over  in  weight. 
Attempts  to  purchase  such  horses  in  Canada  have 
been  made  at  different  times  since  the  war  began, 
but  the  proportion  of  horses  obtained  was  so  slight 
in  comparison  with  the  total  number  examined  and 
the  cost  of  inspecting  and  purchasing  them  was 
so  great  that  practically  all  purchases  have  been 
made  in  the  United  States,  so  far  as  North  Amer- 
ica is  concerned.  In  South  America  the  Argentine 
appears  to  have  been  the  only  country  which  has 
exported  any  considerable  number  of  horses.  About 
150,000  head  in  all  have  probably  been  exported 
from  Buenos  Aires  since  the  war  began.  The  cav- 
alry horses  bought  there  have  brought  about  $90 
in  our  money,  and  the  best  artillery  horses  from  $125 
to  $130.  Inasmuch  as  the  cavalry  horses  bought  in 
this  country  have  brought  from  $125  to  $150  and 


Arthur  CoJeorove  ]  ^  [    Lewis  Slack    ] 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  497 

the  artillery  horses  from  $165  to  $210,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  Argentine  has  not  been  favorably  consid- 
ered as  a  source  of  horses  for  foreign  use.  One 
reason  is  found  in  the  long  shipment  and  another  in 
the  fact  that  they  have  but  a  very  small  proportion 
of  horses  large  enough  for  artillery  work. 

French  Embarg^o  on  Exports. — Practically  no  im- 
portations of  Percherons  have  been  made  since  the 
European  war  began.  A  few  horses  bought  before 
the  war  broke  out  were  brought  over  in  the  autumn 
of  1914,  but  these  were  not  Percherons.  From  that 
time  until  Jan.  1,  1917,  no  more  Percherons  were 
imported,  except  59  brought  over  in  the  spring  of 

1916.  Almost  immediately  after  the  war  began  the 
French  Government  placed  an  absolute  embargo  on 
the  exportation  of  horses  to  foreign  countries.  This 
embargo  was  not  lifted  until  Jan.  1,  1916,  when 
through  the  strenuous  efforts  of  Charles  Aveline, 
then  President  of  the  Percheron  Society  of  France, 
the  government  did  agree  to  release  for  export  200 
Percheron  stallions  rising  four  years  old  or  over. 
This  suspension  of  the  embargo  lasted  from  Jan.  1 
to  March  1,  1916,  and  but  59  horses  were  brought 
out  under  this  release  order.  Another  order  of  sim- 
ilar character  released  200  more  stallions  for  export 
during  December,  1916,  and  January  and  February, 

1917,  but  these  horses  were  required  to  be  coming 
four  years  old  or  over. 

American  Breeding  Stimulated. — The  elimination 
of  imports  has  greatly  stimulated  Percheron  breed- 
ing in  this  country.     Importers  and  dealers  have 


498  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

been  forced  to  purchase  tlieir  stock  here.  They 
have  scoured  the  country  for  good  colts  of  both 
sexes  and  have  paid  higher  prices  than  ever  before. 
This  has  encouraged  our  breeders  to  spend  more  time 
and  money  in  breeding  good  mares  to  better  sires. 
This  demand  has  also  caused  growers  to  feed  their 
colts  more  liberally,  with  results  which  were  ex- 
hibited in  most  convincing  form  at  the  1916  Inter- 
national Live  Stock  Exposition. 

During  the  twelvemonth  ended  Oct.  30,  1915,  reg- 
istrations were  made  by  the  Percheron  Society  of 
America  as  follows: 

American-bred  stallions,  3,795;  American-bred 
mares,  4,542;  total  American-breds,  8,337. 

Imported  stallions,  107;  imported  mares,  48;  total 
imported  Percherons,  155.     Grand  total,  8,492. 

During  the  fiscal  year  ended  Oct.  30,  1916,  reg- 
istrations were  as  follows : 

American-bred  stallions,  4,043;  American-bred 
mares,  4,861;  total  American-breds,  8,904. 

Imported  stallions,  123;  imported  mares,  17;  total 
imported  Percherons,  140. 

Almost  all  of  the  registrations  under  the  head  of 
^'imported''  for  1915  were  of  animals  imported 
prior  to  the  beginning  of  the  war,  and  of  the  140 
imported  animals  recorded  during  the  fiscal  year 
of  1916  all  but  59  were  imported  prior  to  the  war. 

The  most  decisive  testimony  regarding  the  effect 
of  the  war  in  stimulating  Percheron  breeding  comes 
from  the  small  farmer-breeders  scattered  throughout 
this  country.     They  testify  without  exception  that 


ARMOUR'S    PERLllEiiUA     GLl^i.XL.     MACK— TAKEN    A*"TER    NINE    YEARS 
OF   STEADY    SEKVUE 


THE    FAMOUS    PBRCHERO.N    GELJJING    BIG    JIM. 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  499 

they  have  had  a  better  demand  for  their  surplus 
stallions  and  that  they  have  sold  them  at  earlier 
ages  and  at  better  prices  than  at  any  time  in  the 
last  20  years. 

Commercial  Market  for  Draft  Horses. — Ellsworth 
&  McNair  are  known  throughout  the  United  States 
and  abroad  as  extensive  handlers  of  horses  of  all 
kinds,  including  many  draft  horses.  Harry  McNair, 
of  this  firm,  is  probably  as  well  versed  in  the  com- 
mercial demand  for  draft  horses  as  any  man  in 
the  world.  What  he  has  to  say  on  this  subject  is  of 
particular  interest.     His  statement  follows: 

^'The  point  of  orgin  of  most  of  the  draft  horses 
used  in  the  United  States  is  in  the  west,  particu- 
larly in  the  states  of  Iowa  and  Illinois.  The  best 
market  for  the  surplus  draft  horses  is  very  largely 
in  our  eastern  states,  particularly  Pennsylvania, 
New  York  and  New  England.  It  is  true  that  many 
horses  are  used  in  the  cities,  towns  and  villages  of 
the  middle  west  and  that  large  numbers  of  draft 
horses  are  sold  into  the  northern  woods  for  logging 
purposes,  but  the  chief  market  for  high-class  draft 
horses  is,  and  always  has  been,  in  the  eastern  part 
of  the  United  States.  The  reason  for  this  is  not 
difficult  to  find  when  we  consider  that  more  than 
23,000,000  people  live  in  Pennsylvania,  New  York 
and  New  England  and  that  the  total  valuation  of 
the  horses  used  in  the  cities,  towns  and  villages  of 
that  section  amounts  to  more  than  $135,000,000. 

The  eastern  section  is  densely  populated  and 
given  up  largely  to  manufacturing  and  commerce, 
necessitating  unusual  requirements  in  the  way  of 
transportation.  The  number  of  horses  produced  on 
the  farms  of  the  east  is  very  small.  The  census 
of  1910  shows  that  in  that  year  yearlings  were  found 


500  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

on  farms  in  the  east  to  but  a  limited  extent.  The 
percentages  of  the  total  number  of  eastern  farms  on 
which  yearling  colts  were  found  follows:  Connecti- 
cut, 2  percent;  Maine,  5.4;  New  Hampshire,  3.4; 
Rhode  Island,  1.3;  Vermont,  9;  Massachusetts,  1.9; 
New  York,  9.5,  and  Pennsylvania,  11.1.  It  is  true  that 
horses  may  have  been  produced  on  some  farms  that 
did  not  report  yearlings  in  1910,  but  the  percentage 
of  yearlings  available  in  any  year  is  a  fairly  accu- 
rate index  to  horse  production  in  any  particular 
district.  The  farms  in  the  east  are  not  producing 
as  many  horses  as  they  need  in  their  actual  farm 
work,  to  say  nothing  of  surplus  fit  and  available  for 
city  use.  The  thousands  upon  thousands  of  draft 
horses  annually  shipped  from  western  farms  to  the 
eastern  states  are  used  for  all  kinds  of  transporta- 
tion purposes  where  strength  and  weig'ht  is  needed. 
Ice  companies,  coal  companies,  transfer  companies, 
manufacturing  establishments,  department  stores, 
wholesale  houses,  warehouses  and  mills  are  all  ex- 
tensive users  of  draft  horses,  and  the  farms  of  New 
England  also  take  large  numbers  of  draft  horses 
every  spring  for  use  in  agricultural  work.  The  lum- 
ber interests  in  this  territory  are  also  extensive  and 
require  large  numbers  of  horses  to  go  into  the  woods 
each  fall.  There  are  more  than  100  dealers  or  firms 
located  in  the  states  mentioned  which  make  a  busi- 
ness of  handling  heavy  draft  horses  for  the  eastern 
trade. 

^'From  all  that  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  the 
demand  for  heavy  draft  horses  between  July  1,  1916, 
and  Nov.  15,  1916  was  probably  as  good  as  it  has 
been  at  any  time  within  the  past  20  years.  I  feel 
satisfied  that  the  prices  which  the  dealers  in  the  east 
obtained  from  the  ultimate  consumers  were  as  high 
as  at  any  time  since  1900,  if  not  higher. 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  501 

^^One  thing  which  farmers  generally  do  not  fully 
anderstand  and  which  they  should  at  all  times  keep 
in  mind  is  that  the  trade  for  draft  horses  is  a  sea- 
sonable one.  Heavy  draft  horses  are  in  demand 
mainly  during  the  spring  and  fall  months.  During 
the  winter  tliere  is  little  call  for  them  and  there 
is  not  much  trading  during  June.  The  reasons 
underlying  this  seasonable  condition  in  the  trade 
are  related  to  the  demands  of  commerce.  During 
April  and  May  ice  companies  are  buying  heavily 
for  their  summer  requirements  and  a  great  many 
commercial  concerns  which  do  a  much  heavier  busi- 
ness in  the  summer  than  they  do  in  the  winter,  such 
as  city  lumber  companies,  building  concerns,  con- 
tractors for  excavations,  and  the  like,  are  all  in  the 
market  for  draft  horses  during  the  latter  part  of 
March  and  April  and  the  early  part  of  May.  The 
demand  naturally  falls  off  during  June  as  parties 
needing  these  drafters  have  obtained  them  and  the 
only  horses  bought  are  occasional  animals  to  fill  un- 
foreseen emergencies.  In  the  latter  part  of  July, 
August  and  during  September  the  large  coal  com- 
panies are  on  the  market  purchasing  horses  for  de- 
livery of  coal  during  the  fall  and  winter  months;  the 
logging  companies  are  also  in  the  market  for  heavy 
draft  horses  and  some  additional  purchases  are 
always  made  in  the  fall  on  account  of  an  extra  call 
for  horses  on  contract  work.  These  basic  factors 
underlie  the  trade  for  draft  horses,  which  is  natur- 
ally strongest  during  the  spnng  months  and  next 
best  during  the  early  fall  months.  There  is  no  par- 
ticular demand  for  the  heavy  draft  horses  during 
January  and  February;  the  men  who  need  them  have 
already  obtained  them,  and  such  purchases  as  are 
made  are  emergency  ones  to  fill  out  teams  or  take 
care  of  unforeseen  work.     I  am  satisfied  that  if 


502  A  HISTORY  OF  TPIE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

farmers  generally  would  bear  in  mind  the  fact  that 
the  trade  in  draft  geldings  is  a  seasonable  one,  they 
could  obtain  much  more  for  their  horses  than  they 
have  generally  secured,  by  having  the  horses  fit  for 
sale  at  these  particular  times. 

^'Another  feature  which  is  worthy  of  mention  is 
that  the  eastern  buyers  have  been  willing  to  pay 
higher  prices  and  for  this  reason  have  obtained  the 
better  class  of  draft  geldings.  The  majority  of 
Chicago  and  other  western  buyers,  when  they  do 
want  big  horses,  are  willing  to  take  second-class 
ones  which  can  be  obtained  somewhat  cheaper,  but 
the  eastern  buyers  are  inclined  to  take  the  best 
horses  they  can  get  even  at  higher  prices.  I  know 
of  many  teams  that  have  been  sold  in  New 
York,  Brooklyn  and  Boston  at  prices  ranging  from 
$800  to  $900  per  team. 

^ '  The  number  of  draft  horses  passing  through  our 
large  commercial  markets  during  the  past  2  years 
has  not  been  at  all  representative  of  the  actual  de- 
mand or  sales.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  com- 
mercial markets  have  been  given  up  largely  to  the 
export  trade,  which  has  been  almost  exclusively  for 
cavalry,  artillery  and  transport  horses.  It  is  likely 
that  the  draft  horses  would  have  continued  to  move 
freely  through  the  large  markets  had  it  not  been  for 
the  very  extensive  movement  in  war  horses. 

^^By  reason  of  this  the  eastern  buyers  of  heavy 
draft  horses  have  within  the  last  18  months  been 
avoiding  the  large  market  and  going  directly  to 
the  country,  making  their  purchases  from  farmers 
or  small  dealers  who  have  assembled  and  fed  their 
horses  for  the  eastern  markets. 

^^I  am  no  prophet  and  will  not  undertake  to  make 
any  predictions  as  to  what  will  occur  in  the  com- 
mercial horse  market  when  the  war  ends.    I  believe, 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  503 

however,  that  exports  will  continue  for  a  consider- 
able period,  although  probably  not  on  the  same  ex- 
tensive scale.  I  am  of  the  opinion,  however,  that  we 
probably  shall  ship  a  somewhat  better  class  of  horses 
to  foreign  nations  after  the  war;  it  is  likely  that 
they  will  seek  the  draftier  type  of  mares  weighing 
from  1,400  to  1,700  pounds  and  with  evidence 
of  draft  breeding.  Whether  exports  continue  or 
not,  however,  the  demand  for  draft  horses  in  the 
United  States  will  continue.  In  spite  of  the  exten- 
sive use  of  auto-trucks,  which  has  unquestionably 
curtailed  the  demand  for  heavy  draft  horses  very 
materially,  especially  in  Chicago,  the  need  for  horses 
in  our  city  transportation  will  continue.  The  ex- 
perience of  thousands  of  users  has  satisfied  them 
that  on  short  hauls  and  in  construction  work  as  it 
is  generally  conducted  horses  are  more  economical 
than  auto  trucks. 

^^I  am  satisfied  that  the  only  type  of  horse  which 
it  mil  really  pay  the  farmer  to  raise  in  the  future 
is  the  draft  horse,  and  the  better  the  horse  the 
more  profit  will  accrue  to  the  farmer.  Draft  horses 
are  more  efficient  in  farm  work  than  any  others; 
they  do  more  work,  and  do  it  more  thoroughly  and 
more  cheaply.  Where  draft  mares  are  kept  for  the 
farm  work,  as  they  can  be  wherever  the  farmer 
is  a  good  manager  and  an  intelligent  horseman,  the 
revenue  accruing  from  the  sale  of  the  colts  con- 
stitutes an  annual  income  of  no  slight  importance. 
If  all  the  mares  now  in  the  United  States  which 
range  in  weight  from  1,100  to  1,500  pounds  could 
be  bred  to  first-class  draft  stallions,  and  their 
daughters  in  turn  bred  to  the  best  draft  stallions, 
and  the  grand-daughters  likewise,  the  value  of  the 
progeny  in  the  United  States  would  be  increased  at 
least  $50  per  head,  whether  we  consider  that  value 


504  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

in  draft  horses  from  the  standpoint  of  efficiency 
in  farm  work  or  from  the  standpoint  of  their  actual 
worth  to  users  in  our  large  cities  or  in  foreign  coun- 
tries. There  is  every  encouragement  to  produce 
the  big  horses  of  approved  draft  type,  conformation 
and  quality,  which  will  weigh  1,650  pounds  and  up 
in  good  working  condition.  I  can  see  no  encour- 
agement for  the  man  who  is  producing  the  cheap 
or  undersized  horses.  I  fully  believe  that  the  prices 
on  these  smaller  horses  will  drop  materially  after 
the  war. 

''So  far  as  I  can  judge,  the  average  price  which 
farmers  in  the  United  States  have  received  for 
cavalry  horses  has  been  in  the  neighborhood  of  $115 
per  head.  The  average  price  for  the  French  artil- 
lery horse  has  been  around  $140,  and  for  the  British 
artillery  horse  around  $165  to  the  farmers  who  sold 
such  horses.  There  is  here  a  difference  of  from 
$25  to  $50  per  head  in  favor  of  the  heavier  horse 
and  this  increase  in  weight  has  in  all  instances 
been  due  to  the  use  of  draft  blood.  During  this 
very  time,  however,  when  the  heavy  artillery  horses 
were  selling  from  our  farms  at  an  average  of  $165 
per  head,  horses  with  one  more  cross  of  draft  blood, 
which  would  weigh  from  1,600  to  1,800  pounds  in 
working  condition  have  been  bringing  from  $225  to 
$250  on  the  farms,  and  the  horses  with  still  more 
size  and  draft  character  have  brought  from  $250 
to  $275  on  the  farms.  I  cannot  see  how  there  can 
be  any  clearer  evidence  of  the  advantage  of  produc- 
ing draft  horses  on  the  farm,  or  of  using  purebred 
draft  stallions  in  increasing  the  value  of  the  com- 
mon horses  of  our  country. '^ 

Geldings  at  the  Show. — Tremendous  impetus  has 

been  given  the  breeding  of  better  geldings  by  the 

exhibits  made  at  the  International  Live  Stock  Ex- 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  505 

positions  by  the  great  packing  companies,  breweries 
and  other  exhibitors.  Without  attempting  to  give 
a  detailed  list  of  the  winnings,  it  is  worth  while  to 
call  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  Armour  gelding 
Jim,  admitted  by  experienced  judges  to  have  been 
the  greatest  gelding  ever  exhibited  in  America,  won 
first  and  championship  in  the  heavy  gelding  classes 
in  1903,  1905,  1906  and  1907.  He  has  been  the 
only  gelding  to  achieve  such  an  extraordinary  rec- 
ord in  the  history  of  the  entire  show. 

All  the  geldings  exhibited  by  Armour  &  Co.  have 
been  grade  Percherons.  They  won  the  heavy  four- 
in-hand  class  in  1904,  1905  and  1906,  the  class  for 
heavy  geldings  in  the  treys  abreast  in  1904,  1905 
and  1906,  and  the  class  for  the  sixes  in  1905  and  1906. 
The  high  estimate  placed  on  the  Armour  geldings 
is  abundantly  attested  by  the  frank  admission 
of  Thomas  B.  Freshney,  a  breeder  of  Shires  in 
England,  who  freely  acknowledged  in  1905  that 
they  could  turn  out  no  such  six-horse  team  in  Eng- 
land, taking  size,  draftiness,  weight  and  dashing 
action  into  consideration.  At  the  International  in 
1907  Mr.  Sparks  of  London,  who  at  that  time  owned 
the  best  pair  of  Shires  in  England,  stated  that  all 
prejudices  aside  he  had  never  seen  a  gelding  quite 
so  good  as  Armour's  Jim.  In  1906  Big  Jim  de- 
feated Tom,  a  brown  gelding  sent  over  by  King 
Edward  VII  of  England  to  uphold  the  honor  of  the 
Shires  at  the  International,  and  in  1907  he  defeated 
Drew,  a  horse  that  under  the  name  of  King  Harry 
was  the  champion  gelding  of  Scotland  in  his  day 


506  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

and  was  imported  by  Clydesdale  entliusiasts  to  up- 
hold their  colors  at  the  International. 

The  Percheron  standard  also  has  been  ably  upheld 
during  the  various  shows  by  the  exhibits  sent  for- 
ward by  Swift  &  Co.,  Schwarzschild  &  Sulzberger, 
and  the  Pabst  Brewing  Co.  Exhibits  by  all  these 
companies  w^ere  well  to  the  front  in  the  various 
shows,  and  the  Pabst  six-horse  team  won  the  high- 
est honors  in  1904.  In  more  recent  years  J.  Crouch 
&  Son  have  been  well  represented  in  all  classes  for 
geldings,  winning  the  championship  for  single  geld- 
ing in  1910  on  Prince,  the  trey  hitch  in  1910  and 

1911,  and  the  blue  ribbon  on  the  six-horse  team  in 

1912.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  while  other  breeds 
have  put  forward  the  best  purebred  geldings  that 
they  could  find  in  this  country  or  abroad,  the  Per- 
cheron honors  have  in  all  cases  been  won  on  grade 
Percheron  geldings  bred  in  the  United  States  and 
bought  on  the  open  market  as  work  geldings'. 

The  Armour  six-horse  team,  champion  at  the  In- 
ternational in  1906,  was  sent  to  Great  Britain  and 
exhibited  at  the  Olympic  Horse  Show  in  1907.  The 
team  subsequently  toured  Great  Britain  and  created 
a  sensation  that  has  probably  never  been  equalled 
in  the  tight  little  isle. 

The  wonderful  enduring  qualities  of  the  Per- 
cheron also  are  attested  by  the  fact  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  geldings  which  w^on  the  highest 
honors  in  these  shows  continued  in  steady  service 
until  well  up  in  years.  An  especially  notable  in- 
stance of  this  is  found  in  the  gelding  Mack,  pur- 


DISTRIBUTION    AND    STATISTICS    OF    PRODUCTION  507 

chased  as  a  six-year-old  in  the  spring  of  1905,  by 
Tom  Donnellan,  superintendant  of  stables  for  Ar- 
mour &  Co.  He  was  the  off  horse  in  the  lead  team 
in  the  famous  Armour  six,  and  was  a  member  of  the 
trey  team  that  won  first  for  Armour  in  1906  and  1907; 
in  1914,  when  fifteen  years  of  age  and  after  9  years 
of  hard  service  on  the  city  streets,  he  was  selected  as 
a  high-class  representative  of  what  is  desired  in 
good  Percheron  geldings  and  used  for  demonstra- 
tion purposes  on  an  extension  train  in  Wisconsin 
during  that  year  and  the  following  one.  In  spite  of 
his  age  and  long  service  and  the  fact  that  he  had 
not  missed  a  single  day^s  work  during  the  preced- 
ing 9  years.  Mack  weighed  more  than  1,800  pounds 
in  ordinary  working  condition  and  was  absolutely 
sound  and  right.  This  horse  and  others  shown  in 
the  famous  Percheron  teams  exemplified  in  their  con- 
formation, set  of  legs,  well-shaped,  durable  feet, 
clean  joints,  clean-cut  quality  and  their  long  years 
of  service  the  characteristics  which  have  made  Per- 
cheron geldings  popular  with  great  Packingtown 
firms  and  with  the  cartage  companies  of  the  large 
cities,  where  endurance  is  estimated  at  its  true 
value. 

Percheron  geldings  won  first  and  championship  in 
the  single  gelding  class  7  times  out  of  a  possible  14; 
won  the  blue  ribbon  on  pairs  under  3,500  pounds  9 
times  out  of  a  possible  13;  won  on  heavy  geldings 
three  abreast  7  times  out  of  a  possible  14;  won  on 
the  light  four-in-hand  7  times  out  of  a  possible  9, 
and  won  the  heavy  gelding  six-in-hand  6  times  out 


508  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

of  a  possible  14,  to  say  nothing  of  the  innumerable 
seconds  and  thirds.  Of  this  record  the  breed  has 
reason  to  be  proud,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  it  has 
in  all  instances  been  represented  by  grade  Percheron 
geldings  bought  on  the  open  market  as  work  horses, 
while  adherents  of  other  breeds  have  scoured  two 
continents  and  selected  the  best  purebred  geld- 
ings that  could  be  obtained  to  uphold  their  colors. 


PEBCHEBON  WARES  AT  DELCHESTEB  FARMS. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
SELECTION,  CAEE  AND  MANAGEMENT. 

Under  this  head  we  have  the  pleasure  of  submit- 
ting the  views  of  a  number  of  recognized  authorities 
in  the  trade.  The  authors  believe  that  these  state- 
ments will  prove  interesting  and  instructive,  more 
especially  to  those  who  may  be  engaging  in  the  busi- 
ness of  breeding  Percherons  for  the  first  time. 

Edmond  Perriot. — Speaking  of  t^^es  of  Perche- 
rons as  regarded  in  France  and  by  American  buyers, 
this  veteran  ' ' stallioner "  of  the  Perclie  says: 

*'The  Percheron  types  that  Ave  as  breeders  are 
interested  in  today  may  be  divided  into  three 
classes — the  type  sought  by  Americans,  the  one 
bought  by  the  government  haras,  and  the  type  which 
the  breeders  in  the  Perclie  love  to  see.  Eegarding 
the  last  type,  what  we  look  for  is  a  great  deal  of 
character  and  reproductive  ability  as  shown  in  the 
head  and  neck  and  eye.  We  forgive  some  things 
that  the  American  buyer  would  never  overlook,  but 
we  demand  that  a  good  breeding  stallion  should  have 
an  expressive  physiognomy.  We  like  to  see  in  a 
stallion  a  well-crested,  swan-curved  neck,  a  clean 
throatlatch,  a  well-poised  head  with  small,  fine  ears 
— an  intelligent  head  above  all,  with  a  large  prom- 
inent eye,  full  of  brilliance  and  fire.  The  eye  we 
regard  as  of  very  great  importance.  I  have  never 
yet  seen  a  good  reproductive  sire  that  had  a  com- 
mon eye. 


509 


510  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

' '  Tlie  type  that  the  government  wants  is  a  snngly- 
built,  compact  stallion,  with  a  rather  short,  level 
back  and  moderately  high  withers,  and  showing  a 
pleasing  symmetry  of  form,  with  a  good  length  of 
neck,  sloping  shonlders  and  rather  small,  neat  and 
clean  head.  But  perhaps  the  most  important  point 
for  them  is  the  action.  The  legs  must  be  clean  and 
not  show  too  mnch  bone,  while  a  general  lightness 
of  foot  is  desired,  with  moderately  high  knee  and 
hock  action.  To  put  it  plainly,  the  government  haras 
are  always  looking  towards  the  problem  of  supplying 
the  army  with  good  cavalry  and  artillery  horses, 
and  the  most  of  the  stallions  bought  by  them  are 
used  on  French  Coach  mares  of  different  types. 

^ '  The  American  likes  a  big-framed,  heavy,  draf ty 
type,  even  if  the  head  and  neck  are  not  quite  ideal. 
He  is  looking  above  all  for  strong  underpinning,  and 
will  not  forgive  a  hock  that  is  not  perfectly  straight 
and  clean.  He  also  likes  a  good  length  of  pastern 
and  pays  considerable  attention  to  action." 

James  M.  Fletcher. — The  views  of  one  so  long  asso- 
ciated with  Oaklawn's  breeding  and  importing  oper- 
ations are  surely  worth  printing: 

'^In  my  opinion,  a  typical  Percheron  stallion 
should  weigh  between  1,900  and  2,100  pounds  in 
good  condition.  His  height  will  range  from  I6V2 
to  17^4  hands.  In  selecting  a  stallion  I  look  for  an 
intelligent  head  broad  between  the  eyes  and  carry- 
ing well-set  ears,  a  well-cut  neck  set  on  sloping 
shoulders,  and  a  short  back,  with  the  tail  set  neither 
too  high  nor  too  low.  He  should  have  a  broad  breast 
with  a  muscular  forearm,  broad  quarters,  a  deep 
body  with  well-sprung  rib,  legs  squarely  set  with 
clean  bone,  sloping  pastern  not  too  long,  and  a  wide, 
deep  foot.  Avoid  a  stallion  narrow  between  the  eyes, 
ugly-headed,  with  ears  set  too  wide,  narrow  in  front 


SELECTION,  CAKE  AND  MANAGEMENT  511 

or  behind,  short-ribbed,  or  with  a  crooked  or  puffy 
hind  leg,  a  straight  pastern,  or  a  flat  foot. 

''A  stallion  should  be  housed  in  a  large,  roomy, 
well-ventilated  boxstall,  and  given  plenty  of  exer- 
cise, either  in  a  well-enclosed  yard  or  under  saddle 
on  the  road  every  day.  Plenty  of  fresh  water,  clean, 
fresh  hay  and  sweet,  clean  oats  and  bran  in  sufficient 
quantities  during  breeding  season  to  keep  the  horse 
in  good  condition  are  essential  in  my  plan  of  feeding 
stallions.  I  avoid  com  in  any  form  as  a  feed,  as 
well  as  dirty  or  musty  hay  or  oats.  A  moderate 
amount  of  green  feed  is  beneficial.  A  good  stallioner 
will  not  permit  his  charge  to  become  too  fat  or  too 
thin,  and  will  be  sure  that  he  does  not  lack  exercise. 
A  clean,  well-cared-for  stable  with  good  ventilation 
is  necessary,  and  there  should  be  sufficient  grooming 
to  keep  his  coat  in  a  clean,  healthy  condition. 

''In  selecting  a  brood  mare  I  should  choose  one 
from  a  producing  family,  weighing  1,700  to  2,100 
pounds  and  standing  16  to  17%  hands  high.  She 
should  be  sound  and  of  feminine  type.  The  mare 
should  have  a  fine  head  with  eyes  well  apart  and 
well-set  ears  not  too  heavy,  a  slim,  graceful  neck 
well  set  on  sloping  shoulders,  a  large,  roomy  barrel, 
a  well-sprung  rib,  a  tail  not  too  low,  clean,  sound, 
well-placed  legs  not  inclined  to  be  meaty  or  to  cariw 
too  much  hair,  sloping  pasterns  and  deep,  tough 
hoof.  The  mare  to  be  avoided  is  the  one  of  mascu- 
line type  or  from  a  family  of  shy  producers.  They 
are  rarely  successful.  A  coarse,  Roman  head,  heavy, 
poorly-set  ears,  a  masculine  neck,  a  tail  set  too  low, 
a  short  rib,  a  crooked,  puffy  hind  leg,  a  straight 
pastern  and  a  foot  that  is  too  narrow  or  too  flat 
are  also  very  undesirable  features. 

'"'Brood  mares  not  in  the  harness  should  be  kept 
in  pasture  as  much  as  possible  at  all  seasons  of  thQ 


512  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  PIORSE 

year.  The  expectant  mother  should  be  given  a  well- 
ventilated,  roomy  boxstall  and  permitted  to  run  out 
as  much  as  possible.  Feed  clean,  fresh  hay,  ground 
oats  and  bran,  and  such  green  feed  as  the  season 
affords.  Mares  should  be  kept  in  healthy  condition, 
neither  too  fat  nor  too  thin.  As  foaling  time  ap- 
proaches a  night  watch  should  be  kept.  During  the 
period  of  suckling  the  mare  must  be  fed  well  on 
milk-producing  feeds,  such  as  dampened  ground  oats 
or  bran.    Keep  in  the  pasture  as  much  as  possible. 

''The  stallion  colts  should  be  thoroughly  halter- 
broken  at  or  before  weaning  time.  After  taking  the 
colt  from  its  mother,  he  should  be  placed  in  roomy, 
well-ventilated  pens  or  boxstalls  that  adjoin  clean, 
well-drained  yards  or  pastures,  where  he  may  have 
plenty  of  exercise.  These  yards  or  pastures  should 
be  fenced,  either  with  boards  or  closely-woven  heavy 
wire  of  such  weight  as  to  discourage  any  disposition 
to  get  out.  They  should  be  located  also  on  dry, 
well-drained  ground.  The  stable  should  be  kept 
clean.  The  colt  must  have  sufficient  feed  to  keep 
him  in  a  healthy  and  growing  condition,  but  not 
too  fat.  It  is  a  mistake  to  permit  colts  to  go  back 
after  weaning  time  through  lack  of  feed.  A  colt 
stunted  at  this  time  will  never  recover  his  lost 
ground. 

''I  believe  a  ration  of  ground  oats  and  bran  with 
plenty  of  sweet  hay  the  best  for  colts.  After  the 
first  winter  place  them  in  well-fenced  pastures  with 
ample  shed  protection  from  bad  weather.  Do  not 
locate  this  pasture  adjacent  to  one  in  which  mares 
are  kept.  Have  plenty  of  fresh  water  always  acces- 
sible and  feed  enough  grain  to  keep  the  youngsters 
in  a  healthy  growing  condition. 

''I  should  handle  my  colts  in  this  manner,  with 
proper  winter  protection,  until  they  are  2%  years 


OASTILLE    7&956    (6455S)— CHAiMPION    CHICAGO    INTEBNATIONAIj,    1911. 


^^^^^^HpF  «^»Jt 

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JOliiJ     lU0»/8     l»^»4ZJ — CllAMflUiN     FAJN  AMA-i"ACXb'JlC    JDArUSlTlOiN,     iai5. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  513 

old,  and  then  place  them  in  roomy  boxstalls  and 
feed  them  for  market.  Stallion  colts  kept  in  con- 
finement and  highly  fed  easily  become  blemished. 
Through  lack  of  exercise  they  do  not  develop  proper 
bone  and  muscle,  and  rarely  reach  their  full  size. 
They  also  are  inclined  to  bad  dispositions.'' 

W.  E.  Prichard. — This  from  one  of  the  veterans 
of  the  trade  in  the  middle  west: 

^ '  Forty-seven  years  of  experience  and  observation 
have  convinced  me  that  the  most  serviceable  Perche- 
ron  stallion  should  stand  from  16.2  to  17.1  hands 
high  and  weigh  from  1,800  to  2,000  pounds  in  thrifty 
breeding  condition.  Some  200  pounds  or  more  fat 
could  be  added  to  this  weight,  but  it  is  to  the  injury 
of  the  stallion;  it  is  usually  not  real  horse,  it  is 
worthless  blubber. 

^'In  looking  over  a  stallion  have  him  stand  in  the 
shade  of  a  stable  door.  Take  him  by  the  bit  with 
the  left  hand,  look  in  his  mouth,  look  in  his  eyes, 
look  over  his  face;  then  drop  your  eyes  down  to  his 
breast  and  shoulders,  then  down  to  his  knees,  pas- 
terns and  feet.  See  that  he  stands  squarely  on  his 
feet.  Then  step  to  his  left  shoulder;  chin  him.  Then 
step  back  about  10  feet  and  take  in  the  topline  and 
depth  of  body,  specially  the  flank.  Step  behind  and 
observe  the  width  of  quarters,  the  fullness  and  depth 
of  the  stifles.  Step  around  to  the  right  side  and 
look  him  over  just  as  on  the  left.  Examine  his 
coronets;  observ^e  how  he  stands  on  his  pasterns, 
which  should  be  fair  in  length  and  sloping.  See 
that  he  has  plenty  of  bone  of  good  quality  below 
the  knee  and  hock,  and  is  sound.  Then  let  him  walk 
out  and  return  on  the  walk.  Have  him  move  at  the 
trot  out  and  back  and  see  that  his  action  is  straight. 

'^The  stallion  should  be  rugged  and  masculine, 
not  feminine   in   appearance.     He  should  'have   a 


514  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 

strong  head  well  poised  on  a  good  neck.  His  breast 
should  be  full,  wide  and  deep.  The  body  should 
measure  well  at  the  heart  and  be  full  and  deep  at 
the  flank.  The  back  should  be  strong  and  short, 
well-coupled  with  long  hips  of  good  width.  He 
should  stand  on  good,  big  feet  and  be  of  kind  dis- 
position. 

^^  Before  settling  for  the  stallion  see  his  certificate 
of  registration  and  try  his  wind.  Buy  of  a  respon- 
sible breeder  or  dealer — one  who  can  and  will  treat 
you  right  if  anything  goes  wrong. 

^'If  it  is  possible  to  give  a  stallion  work,  break 
him  to  harness  and  give  him  constant  work  about 
the  farm  out  of  season.  When  the  breeding  season 
comes  he  will  be  in  condition  and  it  will  be  easy 
to  give  him  daily  exercise  of  from  5  to  6  miles.  If 
you  cannot  work  the  stallion,  make  a  paddock,  en- 
closing an  acre  of  ground  with  good  grass  and  plenty 
of  water  always  at  hand.  Build  a  stall  for  shelter 
from  sun  and  storm  so  that  he  can  go  in  and  out  at' 
will.  Feed  oats  and  a  little  dry  bran  in  every  feed. 
If  he  does  not  eat  oats  readily,  feed  a  little  corn  and 
good  timothy  hay.  Handled  in  this  manner  the 
stallion  should  live  long  and  be  useful  as  a  sire. 

*  *  Our  experience  has  been  that  the  full-made,  wide, 
deep-bodied  mare  of  medium  height,  standing  on 
rather  short  legs,  is  the  most  successful  in  the  hands 
of  the  average  breeder.  Her  weight  in  ordinary 
working  condition  should  be  from  1,600  to  1,900 
pounds.  She  should  have  plenty  of  bone  both  fore 
and  aft,  specially  below  the  knee  and  hock.  We 
like  as  much  refinement  about  the  head  and  neck 
as  is  consistent  with  the  conformation.  The  mare 
should  have  a  strong  back  well  coupled  to  broad 
hips.  Of  course  she  should  stand  on  sound  feet  and 
limbs.    Be  sure  that  she  has  a  sweet  disposition  and 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  515 

is  not  nervous  or  fretful.  The  frotliy-dispositioned 
mare  is  a  nuisance  and  should  be  avoided.  Look 
your  mare  over  and  find  a  stallion  that  can  correct 
her  faults.  Keep  her  in  harness,  if  you  can,  working 
her  up  nearly  to  foaling  time. 

''We  prefer  to  keep  our  mares  in  harness  almost 
up  to  foaling  time,  working  them  carefully,  slowly, 
and  in  moderation.  The  feed  before  foaling  is  on 
the  laxative  order — oats  and  bran,  not  too  much 
hay.  We  have  fed  our  mares  some  silage  for  some 
time  before  foaling  and  like  it  very  much;  about  12 
pounds  twice  a  day  make  a  reasonable  feed.  The 
silage  must  be  absolutely  free  from  mold. 

''When  the  mare  foals,  if  we  are  present  and  the 
afterbirth  is  separated  from  the  navel,  we  disinfect 
the  navel  at  once  with  a  good  disinfecting  powder 
and  repeat  the  treatment  until  the  cord  is  dried  up. 
We  give  the  mare  tepid  water  to  drink,  a  little  at  a 
time  for  three  or  four  hours  until  her  thirst  is 
quenched.  One  should  be  sure  that  the  foal  sucks 
within  a  reasonable  time.  Give  it  a  chance  to  nurse 
without  assistance  if  possible.  Do  not  be  deceived 
by  its  nosing  around  the  mare's  udder;  be  sure  that 
it  is  nursing.  We  always  give  a  foal  about  an  ounce 
of  castor  oil  before  it  sucks,  if  we  see  it  in  time. 
This  assists  in  regulating  the  bowels.  The  foal 
should  be  watched  for  the  first  three  days  quite 
closely  to  see  that  the  bowels  are  working  properly. 
Make  sure  that  the  mare  cleans  in  a  couple  of  hours 
after  foaling.  One  can  usually  remove  the  after- 
birth by  taldng  a  round  stick  and  wrapping  the 
point  of  the  afterbirth  around  it  and  winding  it  up 
and  out  of  the  mare  slowly.  Examine  the  afterbirth 
carefully  to  see  that  it  is  whole  and  complete.  If 
fragments  are  left,  infection  will  follow  and  the 
mare  may  be  lost.    Feed  her  moderately  for  a  couple 


516  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

of  weeks,  until  the  foal  is  old  enough  to  take  the 
milk  freely. 

''It  goes  without  saying  that  a  stallion  foal  should 
get  a  good  start  in  life  while  by  the  side  of  his 
mother.  He  should  know  how  to  eat  grain  before 
weaning  time,  so  that  when  weaned  he  will  hardly 
miss  his  mother's  milk.  After  weaning  he  should 
have  a  grass  lot  with  feed  and  water  always  before 
him  and  should  be  halter-broken  and  stabled  at 
night.  Have  oats,  corn,  bran  and  good  hay,  clover 
or  some  alfalfa,  always  available.  We  aim  to  have 
grain  before  our  weanlings  so  that  they  can  get  it 
as  they  want  it. 

''When  spring  comes  our  yearling  stallions  are 
placed  in  a  pasture  by  themselves.  They  are  fed 
grain  three  times  a  day  and  have  good  water  always 
available.  If  the  grass  is  not  plentiful  enough,  we 
give  hay  or  silage  to  supplement  it.  In  other  words, 
we  give  them  plenty  to  eat  and  the  freedom  of  the 
pasture  for  exercise.  When  winter  comes  again  the 
yearlings  are  run  in  a  20-acre  bluegrass  pasture  and 
fed  sorghum,  silage,  hay  and  grain  in  a  roomy  barn 
where  they  go  in  and  out  at  will.  The  next  spring 
they  are  coming  two-year-olds.  In  March  and  April 
they  are  kept  off  the  pasture  and  yarded  about  the 
barn.  Wlien  grass  is  good  in  May  they  are  turned 
on  the  pasture  and  grained  three  times  daily.  We 
had  twelve  two-year-olds  running  together  last  sea- 
son. They  get  exercise,  sunshine  and  shade  as  they 
want  it,  and  they  grow  and  grow.  They  grow  bone 
and  muscle  and  develop  as  colts  should,  and  only 
as  colts  can  that  are  raised  in  the  open.  Last  sum- 
mer was  dry  and  hot  and  the  late  pastures  were 
bare,  but  we  planted  some  sweet-corn  which  ripened 
early  enough  to  cut.  With  that  and  our  silage  the 
colts  managed  to  squeeze  through  and  those  who  see 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  517 

tliem  seem  to  think  tliey  look  very  well.  At  one  time 
our  two-year-olcls  and  yearlings  were  running  on 
sweet  clover  up  to  their  knees,  and  liked  it  im- 
mensely. We  sowed  sweet  clover  in  oats  last  spring 
and  it  looks  like  a  success. 

^^Our  two-year-olds  have  not  been  housed  in  a 
closed  barn  since  the  first  winter,  and  then  only  at 
night.  A  variety  of  feeds  is  essential — oats,  corn, 
bran,  silage,  timothy  hay,  sorghum,  sweet  clover, 
bluegrass,  and  alfalfa.  We  can  raise  Percherons  in 
America  as  good  and  as  big  and  as  rugged,  and  yet 
as  refined  and  as  full  of  quality,  as  they  can  in 
France.  To  accomplish  this  end  we  must  breed  good 
mares  to  good  stallions,  give  abundant  exercise  in 
the  open,  and  feed,  feed,  feed.'' 

E.  B.  White. — The  present  President  of  the  Per- 
cheron  Society  of  America  expresses  his  judgment 
as  follows: 

^ '  The  main  things  to  seek  in  the  Percheron  stallion 
are  bone  of  good  quality  and  quantity,  good  feet  and 
correctly-set  legs,  specially  the  pasterns,  a  good  back, 
plenty  of  depth  in  hoof,  a  good  middle,  and  straight 
and  free  action  at  both  walk  and  trot.  Of  course 
the  horse  should  be  sound  and  clean.  He  should 
show  quality,  but  not  be  coachy.  Tha  size  of  a  draft 
horse's  head  should  be  in  proportion  to  his  body 
and  show  quality.  The  eyes  should  be  prominent 
and  the  horse  should  appear  always  alert.  I  believe 
that  alertness  strongly  indicates  prepotency.  I  never 
have  seen  a  prepotent  sire  that  nearly  always  ap- 
peared dull  and  sleepy.  He  should  be  of  medium 
size,  and  I  would  suggest  that  he  weigh  not  more 
than  2,100  pounds  in  show  condition.  I  believe  that 
the  very  large  ones  are  seldom,  if  ever,  satisfactory^  in 
the  stud.  The  things  to  be  avoided  are  unsound- 
ness, especially  the  kind  that  is  generally  considered 


518  A  HISTORY  OP  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

hereditary,  any  faulty  conformation  that  is  fre- 
quently found  in  the  breed,  such  as  a  droopy  rump, 
crooked  hocks,  and  the  like.  I  prefer  not  to  have 
an  oif-colored  horse,  not  that  the  color  makes  the 
horse,  but  it  indicates  the  possibility  of  the  presence 
of  some  other  blood  than  that  of  the  breed  and  to 
that  extent  makes  uncertain  the  type  of  colts  which 
the  stallion  will  sire. 

"I  do  not  believe  that  one  can  afford  to  work  a 
high-class  stallion;  the  risk  is  too  great.  He  should 
have  a  large  boxstall  opening  into  a  paddock  con- 
taining about  an  acre,  and  the  door  should  be  kept 
open  day  and  night  so  that  the  stallion  can  go  in 
and  out  at  will.  The  fence  must  be  secure,  but  at 
the  same  time  constructed  so  that  the  horse  can  see 
through  and  ascertain  what  is  going  on.  If  possible, 
I  like  to  have  a  knoll  in  the  paddock,  from  which 
the  horse  can  get  a  good  look  over  a  large  part  of 
the  farm.  He  should  be  made  happy  and  contented. 
The  stallion  should  be  kept  in  the  stall  a  month 
before  the  breeding  season  begins,  fed  more  heavily 
and  given  plenty  of  exercise,  so  that  when  the  season 
begins  he  will  weigh  about  150  pounds  less  than 
in  show  condition  and  be  hard.  I  use  only  oats, 
bran  and  timothy  hay  for  my  stallions.  Other  feeds 
may  be  as  good,  and  they  may  be  better,  but  I  know 
from  experience  that  these  are  both  good  and  safe. 

*^I  believe  that  the  size  desired  in  the  colt  should 
be  mainly  derived  from  the  mare.  Therefore,  I  like 
a  large,  open,  roomy  mare,  but  she  must  be  feminine. 
While  I  do  not  want  a  long  back,  at  the  same  time 
I  prefer  it  to  a  short,  pony-built  mare.  She,  like 
the  stallion,  must  be  sound  and  have  good  true 
action.  Mares  while  pregnant  can  and  should  be 
worked  when  it  is  possible  for  the  owner  or  his  sons 
to  handle  them  or  when  a  reliable  man  is  to  be 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  519 

secured.  When  this  is  not  possible  it  is  best  that 
the  mare  remain  idle,  but  in  this  case  she  should 
be  out  every  day  unless  the  weather  is  very  bad 
and  she  should  be  allowed  the  run  of  large  pastures 
and  not  be  confined  to  paddocks.  A  fair  number  of 
mares  can  be  allowed  to  run  together,  but  I  regard 
it  desirable  not  to  have  more  than  eight  in  one 
pasture. 

"About  one  week  before  foaling  the  mare^s  feed 
should  be  oats  and  bran,  largely  bran,  so  that  her 
bowels  may  be  in  good  condition.  If  one  is  sure 
that  the  foal  will  receive  proper  attention,  especially 
the  navel,  the  mare  may  be  put  to  work  within 
two  weeks  after  foaling;  otherwise  I  prefer  to  have 
her  remain  idle  until  the  navel  has  healed.  On  my 
farm  the  mares  carrying  foals  are  not  worked,  but 
this  is  because  of  my  inability  to  secure  reliable 
labor.  When  they  are  suckling  I  feed  my  mares 
oats  and  bran  and  mixed  hay,  half  timothy  and  half 
clover  or  alfalfa.  When  flies  are  bad  the  mare  and 
foal  have  a  boxstall  during  the  day  and  are  turned 
out  at  night. 

"The  stallions  and  fillies  should  be  separated 
when  not  more  than  seven  months  old.  This  is 
before  there  is  a  possibility  of  any  of  the  fillies  com- 
ing in  heat  and  causing  the  stallions  to  fret  and 
worry.  If  a  stallion  is  never  allowed  to  get  near 
enough  to  a  mare  in  heat  to  smell  her,  he  will  run 
in  a  pasture  with  a  number  of  others  nearly  as  con- 
tented as  the  same  number  of  geldings.  These 
stallions  should  have  abundance  of  range.  I  prefer 
a  field  about  twice  as  large  as  would  be  necessary 
to  furnish  them  sufficient  pasture,  and  I  put  in  the 
pasture  a  like  number  of  cattle.  When  running  in 
large  pastures  the  colts  are  able  to  take  abundant 
exercise  and  will  consume  large  amounts  of  oats 


520  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 

and  bran,  of  wliicli  tliey  should  be  given  all  tliey 
will  clean  up  nicely. 

^'For  pasture  I  prefer  bluegrass  on  limestone  land, 
with  running  water  at  hand.  My  colts  run  together 
in  such  a  pasture  until  they  are  about  twenty-seven 
months  old.  The  flies  then  compel  me  to  stable  them 
during  the  day.  I  find  that  when  they  are  sepa- 
rated during  the  day  they  get  more  rough  when 
turned  together  at  night  than  when  allowed  to  re- 
main together  all  the  time. 

^'Wlien  it  is  not  practicable  for  small  breeders 
to  make  ample  arrangements  for  raising  their  colts, 
I  would  advise  selling  the  stallion  foals  at  weaning 
time.  I  should  like  to  see  some  man  in  every  breed- 
ing community  engaged  solely  in  the  purchase  and 
development  of  these  youngsters. '^ 

J.  L.  DeLancey.— This  from  one  who  has  helped 

to  make  Percheron  history  in  the  Northwest: 

^^The  problems  for  the  beginner  in  the  breeding 
of  Percherons  are  many,  nearly  all  of  which  can 
be  solved  easily  by  putting  to  proper  use  the  infor- 
mation which  one  can  obtain  from  experienced,  con- 
structive breeders.  It  is,  however,  to  be  regretted 
that  we  do  not  have  more  constructive  breeders, 
both  in  this  country  and  in  France,  but  those  we 
have  had  and  have  now  have  done  a  wonderful 
work.  And  there  is  much  to  do  in  the  future.  It 
is  unfortunate  for  the  breed  that  until  very  recently 
the  cheaper  class  of  Percheron  was  more  profitable 
to  the  importer  and  dealer  than  the  better  ones. 
But  the  time  has  now  come  when  the  breeder  of  the 
good  ones  meets  with  a  just  reward,  not  only  in 
pecuniary  profits,  but  in  personal  satisfaction  and 
public  appreciation. 

^^The  person  who  is  establishing  a  stud  of  Per- 
cherons today,  either  on  a  large  or  small  scale,  should 


ON    RIGHT,    :\rAKE    HELEN    HELIX    97206,    CHAMPION    NEBRASIi^    STATE    FAIR 
1916;  ON  LEFT,   MABE  DOROTHY  B.    122455,  RESERVE   CHAMPION  NEBRASIvA 
STATE    FAIR,    1916. 


ILDEFONSE   79307    (83004)— CHAMPION   AT   THE  IN  TERN  ATI  ON  AIj 
EXPOSITION    OF   1913. 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  521 

use  greater  care  in  tlie  selection  of  his  foundation 
stock,  both  as  to  their  breeding  and  conformation, 
than  ever  before.  The  mares  should  be  of  good 
size,  standing  squarely  on  large,  wide-heeled  feet 
with  round  hoofheads,  above  which  are  pasterns  of 
proper  slope,  strong,  flat  bone,  flat,  wide  hocks  and 
large,  fiat  knees.  Also  they  should  have  good  ends, 
long,  well-sprung  ribs  and  level  toplines.  Avoid 
all  undersized  and  very  blocky  mares. 

''In  choosing  a  stallion  one  must  remember  that 
the  sire  is  half  the  stud,  and  that  his  selection  is 
most  important.  There  are  many  experienced  breed- 
ers who  can  tell  at  the  first  glance  a  stallion  that 
will  be  more  than  an  average  breeder.  The  same 
stallion,  on  close  inspection,  may  have  faults,  either 
in  breeding  or  confonnation,  which  would  make 
him  undesirable  as  a  stud-header.  But  if  one  can 
get  the  strong  'personality'  in  a  stallion  which  so 
attracts  the  man  of  experience,  and  without  the 
other  faults,  one  is  almost  sure  to  be  piloting  in 
safe  waters  for  a  sire. 

"The  general  points  to  seek  in  the  selection  of 
a  sire  are  much  the  same  as  for  mares.  In  addition 
he  should  be  stronger  and  more  masculine  in  appear- 
ance, especially  in  head  and  neck,  as  well  as  more 
upstanding.  The  day  of  the  blocky  Percheron  stal- 
lion is  past.  A  stallion  to  head  a  stud  of  registered 
mares  should  stand  not  less  than  17  hands  high,  and 
weigh  no  less  than  2,100  pounds  in  sale  condition. 

"In  the  selection  of  both  stallion  and  mares  the 
breeding  is  very  important  and  should  be  carefully 
considered.  The  families  of  Percherons  which  have 
made  the  greatest  successes  as  sires  and  dams  are 
well  known,  and  one  should  get  as  much  of  the 
blood  of  these  strains  as  possible  in  the  foundation 
stock. 


522  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

^' Brood  mares  should  have  plenty  of  exercise. 
Much  the  best  plan  is  to  work  them,  feeding  clean, 
nourishing  feed,  so  that  when  the  foals  come  they 
may  be  strong  and  well.  With  proper  cleanliness 
and  disinfection  the  loss  should  be  very  small. 

*^The  feeding  and  care  of  the  foals  after  weaning 
is  almost  as  important  as  the  selection  of  the  sire 
and  dams.  ,The  foals  should  be  weaned  at  five 
months  old,  having  had  oats  for  four  months 
prior  to  weaning  time.  After  weaning  they 
should  have  the  run  of  a  grass  paddock,  when 
flies  are  not  bad,  and  be  fed  liberally  on  grain.  We 
have  never  been  in  favor  of  over-feeding  either 
stallions  or  colts,  but  there  is  little  danger  in  giving 
too  much  grain  the  first  year.  After  that  feed  them 
liberally,  but  not  all  that  they  will  eat.  Many  good 
colts  have  been  ruined  by  over-feeding.  It  is  advi- 
sable to  let  from  two  to  six  stallions  run  together 
until  two  and  one-half  years  old ;  then  separate  them. 

*  *  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  over-feed  a  colt  running 
on  grass.  The  feed  given  them  then  will  give  the 
best  results,  but  when  they  are  taken  up  greater 
care  should  be  used  in  the  selection  of  feeds.  And 
always  give  plenty  of  exercise.  The  word  exercise 
should  be  strong  in  the  mind  of  every  breeder  of 
Percherons.  Without  it  one  grows  a  small-boned, 
soft-muscled,  blemished  colt.  And  if  the  mature 
stallions  do  not  get  exercise  and  plenty  of  it,  they 
soon  become  non-breeders  and  the  colts  they  do  sire 
will  be  weaklings. 

^  ^  The  beginner  in  Percheron  breeding,  who  begins 
right  and  then  follows  it  with  judicious  care  and 
feeding,  will  find  his  undertaking  both  interesting 
and  profitable.  Besides  that,  he  is  conferring  a 
lasting  benefit  to  the  community  in  which  he  lives. ' ' 

J.  0.  Singmaster. — Out  of  his  long  experience  as 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  523 

a  breeder   and   importer   Mr.    Singmaster  submits 

these  views: 

"In  my  opinion,  tlie  cliief  characteristics  of  a 
Percheron  stallion  are  these:  a  head  of  good  length 
and  breadth,  broad  between  the  eyes,  wide-open  nos- 
trils; eyes  full  and  rather  outstanding,  rather  than 
deep-set  or  in  any  way  out  of  nonnal;  a  gracefully 
curved  and  massive  neck;  broad  and  heavy  shoul- 
ders; a  deep-ribbed  body;  a  back  well  developed 
from  the  point  of  the  shoulder  and  of  graceful  sym- 
metry; medium-closely  ribbed  at  the  point  of  the 
hip;  the  hindquarters  slightly  narrower  than  the 
shoulders;  a  gently  sloping  and  rather  long  hip;  the 
legs  to  match  this  body — a  good,  straight  limb,  a 
flat  bone  of  rather  heavy  type ;  long,  springy  pastern 
joints;  good,  dark-colored  hoofs  of  above  medium 
size,  and  clean  legs  both  front  and  rear.  He  should 
also  have  a  heavy  tail,  docked  at  9  inches  for  beauty 
of  carriage,  and  still  long  enough  to  brush  away 
the  flies.  There  are  other  points,  but  these  should 
assist  the  inexperienced  purchaser  in  guarding  his 
own  interests.  The  stallion's  weight  in  selling  con- 
dition should  be  2,100  pounds  and  in  breeding 
condition  1,950  pounds.  I  prefer  the  dark  or  steel 
gray  or  black  colors,  without  markings  other  than  a 
star  in  the  face.  Plenty  of  bone  to  support  the 
body  is  essential,  but  abnormal  bone  is  rather  a 
weakness  that  foretells  an  early  breakdown  or  rough- 
ness of  limb. 

"The  breeding  season  in  our  latitude  should  not 
be  earlier  than  April  1.  The  stallion  should  be  put 
on  the  road  for  exercise  a  month  earlier,  so  as  to 
harden  him  for  producing  fertile  semen.  We  would 
not  increase  his  feed  of  bright  timothy  hay  and  oats 
until  he  is  put  to  breeding;  then  increase  the  amount 
fed  and  add  small  quantities  of  clover  hay  or  alfalfa 


524  A  niSTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

and  use  bran  mash  as  a  bowel  corrective.  He  should 
have  4  to  6  miles  of  exercise  daily,  except  Sunday, 
when  he  should  rest  and  not  be  used.  If  the  stallion 
does  not  settle  his  mares  by  May  1,  put  him  to 
work,  either  to  a  wagon  or  at  fann  work,  from  2  to 
4  hours  per  day.  The  stallioner  should  be  a  kind 
man  and  yet  have  his  stallion  under  complete  con- 
trol. Never  strike  your  horse,  but  guide  him,  control 
him.  It  is  sometimes  necessary  to  reduce  your  stal- 
lion to  subjection,  but  never  when  you  are  in  a 
passion. 

' '  Select  the  type  of  mare  that  suits  you  best.  We 
prefer  the  rather  lengthy  mare  of  good-reaching 
neck,  with  a  sweet,  feminine  head,  a  good  pair  of 
shoulders,  a  deep  body  closely  ribbed  to  the  point 
of  the  hip,  a  gently  sloping  hip,  and  flat-boned  legs 
with  springy  pastern  joints.  At  the  throatlatch  she 
should  be  much  lighter  and  cleaner  than  the  male. 
The  prominent  eye  and  the  medium-sized  hoof,  dark- 
colored  and  sloping  but  not  steep,  should  be  sought. 
Get  your  mares  of  similar  conformation,  so  that 
when  mated  with  a  stallion  of  opposite  good  points 
they  will  produce  foals  of  distinctive  conformation 
or  type  that  will  build  your  reputation  as  a  studious 
breeder  of  all  that  is  best  in  Percherons.  Color  in 
the  mare  is  not  so  essential  as  in  the  male.  The 
mare  should  weigh  from  1,750  to  1,900  pounds  and 
be  a  square  walker,  with  no  wobbly  joints.  Per- 
cherons are  of  good  disposition,  and  it  stands  us  in 
hand  to  have  it  so  remain,  but  it  requires  care  in 
mating  and  care  in  handling  the  colts. 

*^  Thirty  days  before  the  foaling  date  the  mare 
should  be  fed  on  bran  mash  and  clean,  sweet  hay, 
with  a  light  ration  of  oats.  Two  days  before  foaling 
she  should  be  placed  in  a  thoroughly  cleansed  and 
disinfected  boxstall,  not  less  than  12  by  12  feet.    A 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  525 

thick  bedding  of  clean,  bright  straw  is  to  be  placed 
for  her.  If  this  is  looked  after  one  need  use  only 
a  drying  powder  on  the  navel.  It  is  the  filthy  con- 
dition that  is  nsually  responsible  for  the  deaths  that 
annually  occur  from  navel  disease. 

*^  Young  foals  should  be  allowed  to  eat  bran  and 
oats  with  the  dam,  besides  the  mother's  milk  for 
the  first  month.  Then  a  smaller  box  should  be 
placed  beside  the  dam's  feedbox,  and  the  foal  will 
soon  take  care  of  its  allowance,  which  may  be 
changed  in  amount  according  to  its  needs.  At  four 
months  it  should  have  a  good  ration  in  addition  to 
the  pasturage.  Keep  the  foal  growing  if  you  want 
the  best  results. 

**One  can  expect  only  ordinary  results  unless  he 
starts  right,  with  both  the  sire  and  dam  of  good 
weights  and  breeding.  To  this  add  feeding  and  care 
and  be  repaid  in  the  value  of  a  well-bred  and  well- 
cared-for  colt." 

W.  S.  Dunham. — The  son  of  the  founder  of  Oak- 
lawn,  who  has  won  for  himself  high  place  in  the 
esteem  of  all  latter-day  breeders  of  Percherons,  sup- 
plies the  following  summary  of  his  views  on  several 
important  matters: 

^^In  setting  forth  my  opinions  as  to  those  things 
which  are  requisite  in  the  selection  of  a  stallion  for 
breeding  purposes,  perhaps  the  best  thing  to  do  is 
to  tell  how  I  look  at  them  when  I  buy  them. 

^'When  a  horse  is  brought  out  for  my  inspection 
I  first  note  his  general  conforaiation  and  size.  A 
stallion  to  be  successful  in  the  stud  should  have  good 
feet  and  legs  and  stand  well  on  them.  Nothing  is 
so  sure  to  be  transmitted  to  the  offspring  as  faults 
of  conformation  in  the  bony  structure,  such  as  curby 
formation  of  the  hind  leg,  lack  of  bone,  or  crooked 


526  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCITERON  HORSE 

or  badly  placed  hind  legs.  In  order  to  suit  me  a 
stallion  mnst  have  some  quality  and  must  be  a  true 
mover.  If  he  has  a  powerful  forearm  and  shoulder, 
he  is  almost  sure  to  transmit  these  qualities  to  his 
offspring  and  to  beget  colts  of  large  size.  For  a  sire 
do  not  buy  too  small  a  horse,  and  do  not  buy  one 
that  is  lacking  in  substance  or  that  does  not  stand 
well  on  his  legs,  feet  and  pasterns. 

'^The  matured  stallion  when  in  use  during  the 
breeding  season  should  have  plenty  of  exercise  and 
good  feed.  He  should,  if  possible,  be  kept  gaining 
in  weight  during  the  season.  I  find  that  the  best 
way  to  take  care  of  such  a  horse  is  to  give  him  a 
yard  to  run  in,  with  plenty  of  oats,  bran  and  good 
hay.  I  do  not  believe  that  he  needs  artificial  feeds 
or  stimulants.  It  keeps  him  more  tractable  and 
surer  if  he  has  plenty  of  exercise,  or  even  work 
when  not  in  stud  service.  The  stallion  which  one 
purchases  for  stud  purposes  of  course  should  be 
sound. 

"Brood  mares  should  be  selected  with  due  refer- 
ence to  size  and  soundness.  They  should  be  of  fem- 
inine type  and  of  the  largest  size  to  be  found,  short 
in  the  back  but  long  beloAv,  and  of  good  substance. 
Lightness  of  bone  is  apt  to  reappear  in  the  colts. 
It  does  not  hurt  the  mares  any,  in  fact  it  does  them 
good,  if  they  are  worked,  except  for  a  short  time 
preceding  foaling.  They  should  not  be  kept  in  too 
high  condition.  Our  own  mares  are  kept  at  work 
except  when  they  are  producing  foals,  but  after 
they  have  their  foals  they  are  kept  on  first-class 
pasture  and  fed  some  grain.  The  foals  have  access 
to  grain  and  are  accustomed  to  eat  before  they  are 
weaned,  so  that  at  weaning  time  they  lose  very  lit- 
tle in  condition. 

"For  proper  development  it  is  necessarj^  that  the 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  527 

young  stallions  have  pasture  and  space  to  run  in. 
They  should  be  well  fed  and  kept  in  growing  con- 
dition. The  great  fault  of  our  American  breeders 
is  that  they  keep  their  stallion  foals  too  much  in 
the  barn,  w^here  they  cannot  possibly  develop  the 
bone  and  substance  which  is  necessary  to  make  them 
first-class  horses.  Colts  should  run  at  large  as  much 
as  possible;  the  exercise,  the  grass  and  the  extra 
feed  they  get  make  them  grow  into  desirable  horses. 
The  importance  of  exercise  and  grass  cannot  be 
dwelt  upon  too  much.  It  is  lack  of  these  which 
prevents  so  many  of  our  American-bred  colts  from 
developing  into  the  kind  of  horse  which  they 
should  be.'' 

J.  B.  McLaughlin. — Few  Americans  know  the 
Perche  and  its  horses  better  than  Mr.  McLaughlin. 
He  says: 

^'Proper  draft  horse  size  is  of  course  the  prime 
requisite  for  the  Percheron  stallion.  Correct  con- 
formation and  alignment  of  the  legs,  big,  broad 
joints,  heavy  bone  with  quality,  pasterns  sloping  at 
an  angle  of  about  45  degrees,  a  short  back  and  a 
long  hip  with  the  tail  set  high,  great  depth  through 
the  chest,  or  heart  as  we  usually  call  it,  great  width 
of  chest,  with  the  front  legs  not  set  too  far  out, 
plenty  of  middle,  with  great  width  to  hips  and  stifles 
— these  points,  together  with  a  big,  broad  foot  with 
a  high  heel  and  plenty  of  straight,  clean,  vigorous 
action  at  both  the  walk  and  trot,  are  the  most  essen- 
tial characteristics  of  a  Percheron  stallion.  The 
things  most  to  be  avoided  are  improper  conforma- 
tion and  alignment  of  the  legs.  A  perpendicular 
line  projected  from  the  middle  of  the  front  toe 
should  bisect  equally  the  pastern  joint  and  the  knee 
joint.  A  line  passed  through  the  point  of  the  stifle, 
the  point  of  the  hock  and  the  point  of  the  hind  toe 


528  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

should  bisect  equally  the  hock  joint  and  the  pastern 
joint. 

^'A  stallion  should  have  at  least  5  miles  of  exer- 
cise each  day.  Out  of  the  breeding  season  the  best 
thing  is  to  work  him  moderately.  He  should  have 
oats  and  corn  enough  to  keep  him  always  in  good 
condition.  He  should  be  given  enough  bran  or 
clover  or  alfalfa  hay  to  keep  his  bowels  in  good 
shape.  I  think  it  is  a  great  mistake  to  try  to  get 
a  horse  thin  through  starvation  or  lack  of  nourish- 
ing food.  The  old  adage,  'Put  your  trust  in  God, 
and  keep  your  bowels  open,'  works  equally  well 
with  men  and  horses. 

* '  Grood  brood  mares  should  be  feminine  in  appear- 
ance. They  should  be  longer  in  the  backs  and 
broader  in  the  hips  and  have  more  quality  than 
stallions.  They  should  be  worked  and  always  should 
be  well  fed. 

"Cleanliness  and  antiseptic  conditions  are  essen- 
tial at  foaling  time.  If  the  mare's  bowels  are  not 
sufficiently  loose  from  the  feed  and  grass,  epsom 
salts  should  be  given  to  make  them  so.  The  mare 
should  have  a  thoroughly  clean  box  in  which  to  foal. 
If  the  season  and  conditions  are  right,  the  pasture 
is  just  as  good  or  better.  The  navel  cord  should 
be  immediately  treated  with  iodine  or  something 
similar  in  order  to  prevent  infection.  Just  so  soon 
as  the  colt  can  eat  it  should  be  fed  all  that  it  can 
handle  in  addition  to  his  mother's  milk.  The  dam 
should  be  fed  grain,  in  addition  to  the  pasture,  in 
order  to  increase  the  flow  of  milk. 

"In  developing  the  colts  I  would  advise  feed,  more 
feed,  and  still  more  feed,  with  oats  if  possible;  oats 
are  the  great  developer  of  hard,  clean,  flinty  bone. 
If  oats  are  not  available,  feed  corn,  and  plenty  of  it. 
For  the  first  two  years  of  its  life  a  colt  cannot  be 


KONTACT      87277 


(95804),      FOURTH-PRIZE     AGED      STAULION. 
LIVE    STOCK   EXPOSITION,    1916. 


INTERN  ATION  AL 


GEORGE    P.    82495.    RESERVE    OHAMPION    AMERICAN-BRED    STALLION,    ILLINOIS 

STATE    FAIR,    1916. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  529 

fed  too  much  grain,  as  this  induces  early  maturity, 
great  size  and  heavy  bone. 

"During  the  fall  and  winter  after  weaning  the 
colt  should  be  fed  all  the  grain  he  will  eat,  with 
enough  succulent  feed,  such  as  bran  and  clover  or 
alfalfa  hay,  to  keep  his  bowels  in  good  condition. 
When  the  colt  is  turned  out  to  pasture  in  the  spring- 
he  should  still  be  fed  grain  in  order  to  make  him 
grow  properly.  I  always  prefer  a  hill  pasture  for 
yearlings,  as  it  induces  great  muscular  development. 
The  winter  that  the  colts  are  rising  twos  they  should 
run  in  a  paddock  or  field  together,  and  should  be 
fed  all  the  grain  they  will  eat.  The  spring  and  sum- 
mer when  they  are  two-year-olds  they  should  still 
run  together  in  pasture,  with  plenty  of  grain;  the  ex- 
ercise that  they  take  playing  with  each  other  adds 
greatly  to  their  development. 

"The  fall  that  they  are  two-year-olds,  when  it 
becomes  necessary  to  separate  them,  they  should  be 
placed  in  boxes,  vntli  paddocks  if  possible,  and  fed 
all  they  will  eat.  A  few  carrots  do  them  a  great 
deal  of  good  at  this  time. 

"In  a  sentence:  in  order  to  develop  a  Percheron 
stallion  to  his  best  estate,  it  requires  from  the  time 
he  is  foaled  plenty  of  exercise,  either  voluntary  or 
forced,  and  all  the  feed  that  one  can  induce  him  to 
consume,  and  of  such  a  nature  that  his  bowels  are 
always  kept  open.'' 

W.  S.  Corsa. — The  buyer  of  Carnot  is  a  close  stu- 
dent of  animal  form  and  his  observations  have 
weight: 

"Fortunately  for  the  horse-breeding  interests, 
owning  a  stallion  is  largely  a  matter  of  convenience. 
Some  one  man  or  set  of  men  usually  will  provide  the 
stallion,  but  no  one  gets  anywhere  in  raising  horses 
unless  he  owns  mares.     While  every  one  of  us  is 


530  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHEBON  HORSE 

vitally  concerned  as  to  the  stallion  he  is  to  use,  the 
fact  remains  that  more  men  own  mares  than  own 
stallions.  The  wide,  general  interest  is  in  the  mares; 
the  deep,  personal  pleasure  for  us  and  our  families 
is  in  the  produce  of  the  mares,  while  attached  to 
them  and  surrounding  them  are  perpetually  per- 
plexing problems  periling  the  profits. 

*^If  the  mare  delivers  a  good  foal  annually,  she 
does  her  part.  If  the  foal  is  raised  and  properly 
developed,  the  owner  does  his  part.  If  both  mare 
and  owmer  do  their  part,  then  there  is  pleasure  and 
profit  in  the  business.  With  this  end  in  view  we 
must  start  with  the  right  kind  of  mares.  This 
would  seem  first  to  require  soundness.  Although 
the  available  stallion  may  be  a  breeder  and  an  im- 
pressive sire,  sound  and  of  correct  pattern  and  suffi- 
cient size,  w^e  cannot  expect  him  to  overcome  a 
material  unsoundness  in  the  mare. 

^'The  size  of  a  brood  mare  is  also  of  importance. 
"We  would  not  expect  to  raise  real  drafters  from 
1,400-pound  mares;  the  offspring  at  maturity  are 
seldom  more  than  chunks.  On  the  other  hand,  there 
is  quite  a  temptation  to  use,  and  a  very  general 
demand  for,  the  ^ton  mare.'  There  are  many  such 
mares  that  are  quick  in  their  movements  and  handy 
at  work  on  the  farm;  they  make  good  mothers  and 
regular  breeders.  They  are  the  exception,  however, 
among  those  of  their  size.  In  general,  I  believe  the 
experience  of  breeders  of  purebred  live  stock  will 
bear  out  the  statement  that  the  excessively  large 
females  are  seldom  the  best  breeders. 

''A  mare  weighing  from  1,700  to  1,800  pounds  in 
ordinarily  good  condition  is  the  draft  mare  that 
may  be  expected  to  give  a  good  account  of  herself 
both  at  work  and  in  the  stud.  Get  size  in  the  off- 
spring through  the  selection  of  the  sire  and  through 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  531 

the  kind,  quality  and  quantity  of  feed  given  tlie 
K3olts.  Fortunately,  it  is  among  these  under  excessive 
weights  that  we  find  the  greater  number  of  mares 
of  acceptable  brood  type — sweetly  feminine  sorts 
which  usually  have  necks  long  enough  so  that  one 
may  put  his  ann  around  and  love  them. 

^' Avoid  flat,  shelly  feet,  straight  pasterns,  crooked 
hind  legs,  excessively  sloping  rumps,  low  backs  and 
straight  shoulders,  both  in  the  mares  and  in  the 
stallion  to  which  they  are  bred.  The  size  of  the 
bone  may  well  be  considered,  though  too  much  stress 
frequently  has  been  placed  upon  mere  size.  It  is 
the  quality,  however,  which  counts.  We  want  a 
clean,  flat,  hard,  flinty  bone,  and  enough  of  it  to 
hold  up  the  mare  and  cany  her  on  any  work  she 
may  be  called  upon  to  do.  It  is  desirable  also  that 
the  front  legs  should  not  cut  under  too  much  just 
below  and  back  of  the  knee. 

*^  Having  found  a  mare  that  is  sound  and  accept- 
able in  size,  type  and  conformation,  let  us  hope  and 
pray  that  she  has  snap  and  courage  to  carry  on  the 
work  that  comes  with  the  heat  of  the  day  and  to 
pass  them  on  as  an  heritage  to  her  offspring.  Such 
a  mare  not  only  moves  more  gaily,  but  is  likely  to 
move  more  correctly  than  the  dull-headed,  wabbly- 
legged  mare. 

^'It  is  idle  to  expect  a  soft,  flabby,  or  poorly  con- 
ditioned mare  to  stand  up  under  the  heart-  and 
body-breaking  stress  of  spring  work,  much  less  to 
conceive.  It  is  to  this  weakened  condition  of  the 
mare  far  more  than  to  the  condition  of  the  stallion 
that  the  failure  of  most  of  the  early  spring  mating 
is  due.  Stallion  owners  commonly  recognize  that 
mares  begin  to  settle  when  the  let-up  comes  in  the 
spring  work,  about  the  time  that  most  mares  have 
a  little  chance  to  begin  to  gain.     Mares  that  are 


532  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

grained  into  gaining  condition  and  are  hardened  by 
proper  exercise  or  work  are  ready  for  spring  labor; 
also  they  are  in  condition  to  be  bred.  The  prevailing 
practice  among  breeders  of  live  stock  other  than 
horses  is  to  have  all  the  young  come  at  about  the 
same  time,  so  that  they  can  all  be  carried  along  and 
finally  sent  to  market  together.  For  obvious  rea- 
sons this  does  not  work  out  well  in  the  foal  crop. 
Where  several  mares  are  on  a  farm  for  the  dual 
purpose  of  farm  w^ork  and  raising  foals,  the  farm 
work  is  less  interrupted  and  the  foals  can  be  given 
better  care  and  attention  if  the  entire  foal  crop 
does  not  make  its  appearance  at  once.  Practically 
every  farmer  can  take  care  of  one  or  two  early  foals, 
say  of  March  or  even  late  February  foaling,  if  he 
wants  to.  The  early  foal,  like  the  early  calf  or  pig, 
has  an  advantage  over  the  younger  things  when 
fall  comes  and  it  is  time  to  show  or  sell.  If,  how- 
ever, one  is  not  equipped  and  lacks  the  energy  to 
care  for  foals  in  the  early  days  of  the  year,  then 
by  all  means  let  him  arrange  to  have  the  foals  come 
at  grass  time.  For  the  many  this  will  be  the  more 
favorable  time. 

*'Tf  one  w^ants  to  make  some  preparation  for  the 
early  foals,  it  is  all  very  simple  and  inexpensive. 
A  small  building  containing  two  boxstalls,  each  18 
by  20  feet,  separated  by  a  space  6  feet  wide,  serves 
every  purpose.  The  south  half-end  of  the  space 
may  be  inclosed  to  make  a  very  comfortable  place 
for  a  man  to  wait  for  the  expected  newcomer.  The 
building  should  face  south,  and  entirely  across  the 
front  should  run  a  strip  of  4-  or  6-pane  window 
sash,  so  that  every  bright  hour  may  bathe  the  stalls 
in  sunshine.  This  simple  structure  should  be  placed 
a  short  distance  from  other  buildings  and  away 
from  other  horses.    Adjoining  it  should  be  provided 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  533 

a  nice  lot  where  the  mother  and  her  baby  may  enjoy 
themselves  free  from  the  danger  and  annoyance  of 
other  horses. 

*^But  whenever  and  wherever  the  foal  comes,  when 
the  mare  lies  down  it  must  be  somebody's  business 
to  be  on  the  spot  ready  to  help  the  mare  and  take 
care  of  the  foal.  Inexperienced  men,  either  through 
excitement  or  through  ignorance,  too  often  unduly 
hasten  the  coming  of  the  foal.  This  is  bad  for  the 
mare  and  often  fatal  for  the  foal.  The  rope  is  fre- 
quently called  into  use  too  soon,  and  more  often  is 
used  too  severely  and  without  judgment.  Give  the 
mare  a  little  time;  nature  will  assist  pov»^erfully  if 
left  to  herself. 

'^The  navel  cord  of  the  foal  should  be  left  untied. 
Paint  at  once  with  iodine  and  completely  cover  with 
some  dr}"ing  powder.  The  powder  should  be  applied 
repeatedly  until  the  cord  has  entirely  dried  up  and 
healed.  In  aggravated  cases  give  the  iodine  treat- 
ment once  or  twice  a  day,  spraying  the  interior  of 
the  cord  if  the  trouble  is  extreme,  and  apply  the 
powder  three  or  four  times  a  day.  Beware  the  little 
pus  pocliets.  As  a  further  precaution  against  navel- 
ill,  give  the  first  bacterin  treatment  in  24  hours; 
repeat  in  6  days  and  again  when  the  foal  is  about  a 
month  old.  Fortunately  for  men  remote  from  a 
veterinarian,  this  treatment  does  not  require  pro- 
fessional services,  xVny  one  with  ordinary  horse 
experience  can  do  the  work.* 


*N0TE — Touching  the  important  matter  of  Pj*emic  and  Septic  Joint 
Diseases  of  Sucklings  (Omphaloplilebitis  Septica)  Dr.  Tlieo.  C.  Tiede- 
bohl  supplies  the  following: 

"This  disease  is  both  contagious  and  infectious,  affecting  a  new 
born  animal,  occurring  usually  in  the  first  few  days  of  life,  and  seldom 
after  30  days,  and  in  the  greater  majority  of  cases,  it  develops  as  the 
result  of  umbilical  infections,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  stump  of  the 
umbilical  cord  still  being  moist  but  yet  no  longer  nourished,  making  it 
a  favorable  seat  for  infection,  infective  organism  gains  entrance  into 


534  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

"As  soon  as  the  foal  is  able  to  stand,  it  shonld 
be  given  an  injection  of  warm  castor  oil  or  warm 
soapy  water,  preferably  castor  oil.  This  shonld  be 
repeated,  if  necessary,  nntil  the  caretaker  is  satisfied 
that  all  the  little  hard  lumps  have  been  expelled. 
Many  foals  are  lost  because  the  caretaker  is  too 
quickly  satisfied  with  the  results  of  one  injection. 

"If  all  has  gone  well  the  mare  should  be  rebred 
on  the  ninth  day  after  her  date  of  foaling.  Do  not 
neglect  this.  In  our  experience  mares  bred  at  that 
time  are  much  more  sure  to  settle  in  foal  than  when 
bred  at  a  later  date.  Assuming  that  her  foal  is 
exceptionally  good,  then  by  all  means,  if  possible, 
breed  the  mare  back  to  the  same  stallion  as  before 
just  as  long  as  this  excellence  in  the  produce  is 
evident.  Do  not  change;  rather  count  yourself  for- 
tunate that  you  have  this  happy  ^  nick. ' 

"Foals  are  inquisitive  youngsters  and  when  only 
a  few  days  old  will  begin  nibbling  around  the  grain 
box.    From  the  time  they  are  two  weeks  old,  they 

the  blood  vessels  and  either*  causes  a  local  pus  formation  or  gains 
entrance  into  tlie  circulatory  system  itself. 

"From  a  bacteriological  standpoint,  no  specific  organism  has  been 
isolated  that  I  know  of  at  this  time.  The  varieties  which  are  usually 
found  are  as  follows:  Bacillus  Coli  Communis,  Bacillus  Bipolaris 
Septicus  and  Streptococcus. 

"As  for  the  treatment,  many  medicinal  agents  have  been  employed, 
but  with  varying  results.  The  Bacterin  treatment  is  now  the  most 
valuable  adjunct.  It  consists  of  injections  of  killed  bacterial  cultures 
containing  varying  amounts  of  killed  bacteria,  the  doses  varying  from 
one  billion  to  ten  billion.  The  bacterin  is  injected  hypodermatically 
under  the  skin.  The  point  of  inoculation  should  be  antisepticized  with, 
any  good  standard  antiseptic,  using  about  a  5%  solution.  If  the  infec- 
tion is  known  to  exist  on  the  place,  a  second  dose  should  be  given 
about  the  6  th  day,  followed  if  necessarj^  when  the  colt  is  about  80 
days  old. 

"No  harm  can  result  from  the  injection  of  bacterin  if  they  are  made 
by  a  reliable  firm.  There  are  many  vaccines  on  the  market.  Some 
of  them  are  called  Polyvalent,  due  to  the  fact  that  they  contain  killed 
cultures  of  different  types  of  bacteria.  Others  are  Autogenous,  etc^  If 
the  laymen  are  to  employ  bacterin  treatment,  it  is  well  for  tliem  to 
state  when  ordering  tlie  bacterin,  the  use  they  want  it  for  and  the 
biological  companies  will  send  them  bacterin  made  from  cultures, 
suitable  for  navel  infection.  It  is  usually  put  up  in  small  1  CC 
ampules  in  solution  ready  for  administration."  


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  535 

should  have  their  daily  chance  at  the  '  wee  bite, '  and 
as  they  get  older  do  not  make  the  bites  too  'wee.' 
Crushed  oats  and  bran  make  excellent  feed.  There 
may  be  a  better,  but  we  need  not  worry  about  that. 
About  this  time  the  foal  on  most  farms  is  having 
its  troubles.  Often  the  mare  and  foal  have  to  fight 
it  out  with  too  many  others  of  the  same  kind  or  with 
mixed  lots  of  horses.  The  ideal  arrangement  is 
for  the  mare  and  her  foal,  with  no  other  horses,  to 
be  placed  in  a  grass  lot  that  has  not  been  pastured 
by  horses  for  at  least  a  year.  The  nearer  this  con- 
dition can  be  obtained,  the  better  the  foal  thrives 
and  the  freer  it  is  from  infection  and  trouble. 

' '  The  next  critical  period  for  the  foal  is  at  wean- 
ing time.  Then  the  ravages  of  distemper  are  most 
threatening,  and  an  unchecked  outbreak  is  always 
frightful  and  frequently  fatal.  However,  with  the 
colt  long  since  a  good  feeder  and  cariying  consider- 
able immunity  from  previous  bacterin  or  serum 
treatments,  it  only  remains  to  reinforce  the  immu- 
nity against  distemper  by  vaccinating  a  week  before 
weaning  and  by  following  with  the  same  treatment 
a  week  after  weaning.  The  colt  with  his  compan- 
ions is  now  headed  for  winter  quarters.  Before 
going,  however,  there  is  another  good  foot  trimming 
and  leveling  and,  if  it  has  not  been  done  previously, 
he  is  neck-branded.  The  brand,  usually  a  herd  num- 
ber, is  made  a  part  of  the  owner's  records.  This 
is  for  the  convenience  of  the  owner  while  he  lives, 
and  afterward,  if  necessary,  for  the  convenience  of 
his  administrator. 

^' Just  a  last  word  about  the  little  fellows  as  they 
are  taken  from  their  mothers  and  put  in  their  winter 
home.  This  has  been  freshly  prepared  for  them, 
thoroughly  cleaned  and  disinfected.  Throughout  the 
winter  it  should  be  regularly  cleaned  and  occasion- 


536  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

ally  disinfected.  Arrange  tlie  quarters,  if  possible, 
so  that  the  colts  may  go  in  or  out  at  will,  except 
in  stormy  weather,  when  a  gate  may  be  used  to 
keep  them  within  shelter,  where  they  will  be  out 
of  drafts  but  supplied  with  an  abundance  of  fresh 
air.  If  the  gate  to  the  shelter  opens  out  on  several 
acres  of  grassland  w^here  the  colts  may  play  tag  and 
nibble  a  little  lunch  between  their  two  regular  daily 
feeds  of  grain,  there  will  be  some  very  happy  and 
probably  very  profitable  colts.  And  profitable  colts 
are  the  controlling  and  compelling  argument  in  favor 
of  the  use  of  draft  mares  on  the  farm. ' ' 

A.  L.  Hobison  &  Son. — From  this  firm  we  have  the 
subjoined  remarks  touching  the  management  of 
mares  and  foals: 

*^At  the  outset  it  may  be  said  that  the  man  who 
would  succeed  in  the  management  of  Percheron 
mares  and  foals  must  have  mares  of  correct  pattern, 
and  they  must  all  be  of  that  one  pattern.  The  more 
nearly  they  are  alike  in  bloodlines  the  better,  and 
they  must  be  mated  with  a  sire  of  the  same  type 
that  has  likewise  descended  from  an  ancestral  line 
of  which  he  is  a  typical  specimen.  It  is  a  thankless 
task  wasting  good  feed  and  faithful  care  on  mares 
and  foals  that  do  not  resemble  some  one  definite 
standard.  The  greatest  mistake  young  breeders 
m^ake  is  in  picking  mares  here  and  there  that  strike 
the  fancy.  Years  later  they  may  awake  to  the  fact 
that  the  diverse  types  or  uncongenial  bloodlines,  or 
likely  both,  have  foiled  their  attempts  to  produce 
such  colts  and  fillies  as  the  breed  needs.  With  a 
foundation  uniform  both  in  pattern  and  ancestry 
one  is  assured  that  the  offspring  will  be  of  the  same 
sort.  Then  there  is  the  foundation  on  which  skillful 
feeding  and  care  Avill  build  finished  horses  that  are 
a  monument  to  competent  management. 


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ROSELAJS.U    87i(j7,    FIRST-PKIZE    AGED    iL\BE    AT   ILLIXUIS    STATE   FAIR   IN    1916 
AND   KEISEIRVE   CHAMPION  AT   SAJMB  SHOW. 


LEGITIME  98978    (99389),   FIRST-PRIZE  TWO-YEAR-OLD  AND   GRAND   CHAMPION 
MARE.    INTERNATIONAL   LIVE    STOCK   EXPOSITION,    1913 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  537 


ii 


Producing  matrons  must  not  be  allowed  to  take 
on  a  load  of  fat.  Thrifty,  vigorous,  muscular,  big- 
boned  mares  are  easy  feeders,  and  a  kind-hearted  at- 
tendant may  get  them  so  fat  that  they  will  not  breed 
regularly.  It  is  best  to  have  them  come  through  the 
winter  in  moderate  flesh.  Then  during  the  spring 
on  bluegrass  pasture  they  are  fed  corn  generously, 
perhaps  10  ears  twice  a  day,  so  as  to  be  gaining  in 
flesh  at  the  time  of  breeding.  By  this  plan  they  get 
in  foal  much  more  promptly  and  surely.  We  never 
pasture  timothy  and  clover  in  the  spring,  for  the 
mares  do  not  breed  so  well  on  anything  but  blue- 
grass.  Those  that  have  foals  are  left  on  the  pasture 
all  summer,  and  fed  sufficient  com  to  keep  them  in 
strong  flesh  but  not  fat.  Oats  are  not  so  good  for  this 
purpose,  as  they  are  apt  to  cause  colic  in  horses  get- 
ting early  summer  grass.  After  Aug.  1  we  feed  some 
oats.  Mares  that  are  not  suckling  foals  are  given  no 
grain  when  on  pasture.  They  are,  however,  usually 
put  in  the  harness  and  worked  through  the  season.* 
*^We  do  not  breed  two-year-old  Allies.  There  are 
several  reasons.  Such  early  breeding  probably  checks 
their  growth  to  some  extent,  and  our  records  show 
that  it  develops  irregular  breeding  and  a  shorter 
period  of  production.  The  filly  bred  so  young  is 
restless  at  foaling  time,  and  is  not  a  good  mother. 
She  is  likely  not  to  breed  while  suckling  her  first 
foal  at  three  years  old,  and  that  starts  her  at  the 
very  beginning  with  the  every-other-year  habit  of 
breeding.    We  sometimes  put  two-year-olds  to  light 

*NoTE — Readers  will  observe  that  Robison  &  Son  recommend  gen- 
eral use  of  corn  with  mares,  and  as  the  practice  they  follow  is  opposed 
to  that  pursued  by  a  majority  of  breeders,  it  may  be  well  to  state  that 
while  Robison  &  Son  have  obtained  satisfactory  results  with  their 
system  of  feeding,  this  may  largely  be  due  to  the  fact  that  they  have 
Extraordinarily  good  bluegrass  pastures,  mixed  with  white  clover,  and 
that  such  pastures  are  not  overstocked.  The  high  protein  content  of 
bluegrass  has  apparently  served  in  their  case  to  balance  the  surplus 
of  corn. 


538  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHEUON  HORSE 

work.  At  three  tliey  are  bred  and  put  to  work  for 
the  season.  Early  work  develops  a  large  feeding 
capacity,  as  well  as  powerful  frame  and  mnscle.  It 
accustoms  the  tallies  to  being  handled,  and  so  they 
behave  well  when  maternal  duties  come  upon  them. 
Some  of  our  best  old  brood  mares  did  not  produce 
their  first  foals  until  five  years  old. 

^' After  the  foals  are  weaned  in  October,  and  the 
milkflow  is  dried  up,  the  mares  are  turned  on  good 
pasture,  and  fed  5  or  6  ears  of  com  and  3  quarts  of 
oats  apiece  twice  a  day  for  sixty  days,  to  build  up 
their  flesh  in  good  shape  for  the  winter.  After  that 
they  get  no  grain  until  spring.  During  the  winter 
they  run  on  bluegrass  pasture  and  second-crop  tim- 
othy in  the  meadows,  but  are  not  allowed  in  stalk- 
fields.  We  are  also  careful  to  keep  them  out  of  oat 
stubblefields  late  in  the  fall,  for  frosted  green  oats 
cause  abortion.  The  mares  are  not  fed  straw  either. 
Special  care  is  exercised  to  keep  them  away  from  rye 
straw,  as  a  very  little  rye  ergot  is  sufficient  to  cause 
abortion.  Besides  the  grass  from  which  they  often 
paw  the  snow,  the  mares  have  free  access  to  stacks 
of  timothy  hay,  with  just  a  sprinkling  of  clover  in  it. 
Sometimes  they  are  fed  a  little  cane,  but  never  any 
corn-fodder.  Fodder  with  the  ears  on  is  a  dangerous 
feed  for  a  band  of  mares,  because  at  some  time  one 
of  the  mares  is  almost  sure  to  get  too  much  corn  and 
lose  her  foal  as  a  result. 

' '  The  brood  mares  have  no  shelter  in  winter,  other 
than  the  haystacks  for  a  windbreak.  They  will  crowd 
in  quite  closely  and  quietly  around  the  stacks  during 
a  storm.  When  we  have  tried  turning  them  to  the 
sheds  they  at  once  begin  to  fight  for  a  monopoly 
of  the  shelter.  In  that  case  a  big  shed  only  protects 
the  ^boss'  mare  anyway,  and  there  is  the  danger  be- 
sides of  injury  from  kicking.    The  mares  that  run  out 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  539 

all  the  time  do  not  mind  the  cold.  On  some  of  the 
coldest  nights  they  will  be  found  far  ont  in  the  field, 
and  when  the  snow  is  deep  they  are  out  early  pawing 
away  the  snow  to  get  at  the  grass  beneath.  The 
water  tank  for  the  mares  has  a  heater,  which  is  kept 
burning  all  winter,  so  that  they  cannot  become  sud- 
denly chilled  by  taking  a  big  drink  of  icewater.  We 
see  to  it  that  they  come  up  to  drink  twice  a  day. 
Drinking  cold  water  is  more  likely  to  cause  a  mare 
to  lose  her  foal  than  exposure  to  a  rain  or  snow 
storm,  even  with  extreme  cold  weather  immediately 
afterward. 

^'In  the  spring  the  mares  that  are  soon  to  foal 
are  kept  in  pastures  near  the  barn.  At  night  those 
that  are  soon  to  foal  are  put  in  a  little  pasture  near 
the  house,  and  some  one  goes  to  look  at  them  about 
four  times  during  the  night  or  even  every  hour,  in 
some  cases.  This  attention  is  absolutely  necessary, 
if  one  would  avoid  the  frequent  loss  of  foals  and 
sometimes  the  loss  of  a  valuable  mare.  Whenever 
help  is  needed  it  is  needed  at  once.  If  the  afterbirth 
does  not  all  come  away  naturally,  within  a  day,  the 
uterus  is  flushed  full  of  warm  antiseptic  water  and 
the  membrane  removed  carefully  by  hand.  The 
mare  is  fed  lightly  at  first  after  foaling.  She  is  not 
given  much  grain  for  the  first  two  v/eeks.  If  she  is 
fed  heavily  there  is  too  copious  a  flow  of  milk,  and 
the  foal  is  likely  to  develop  digestive  disorders,  and 
maybe  die.  Mixed  timothy  and  clover  hay  is  about 
all  that  is  needed  at  first. 

'*  Mares  are  bred  at  the  ninth  day  after  foaling  and 
are  tried  regularly  thereafter  for  several  periods. 
Breeding  is  more  successful  in  the  afternoon,  as  the 
mares  are  quieter  then  after  returning  to  the  pas- 
ture. Dry,  shy-breeding  mares  are  worked  all  day 
before  they  are  bred.    After  the  first  two  weeks  from 


540  A  HISTORY  OP  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

foaling,  some  corn  is  fed  to  the  mare,  and  the  amount 
is  increased  to  a  heavy  feed  a  couple  of  weeks  later. 

^ '  The  earliest  foals  are  taught  to  eat  at  four  weeks 
old  by  putting  a  little  bran,  whole  oats,  shelled  corn 
and  alfalfa-molasses  meal  in  a  litte  feedbox  just 
out  of  reach  of  the  mares.  In  the  pasture  a  feed 
trough  is  kept  in  a  pen,  with  a  creep  provided,  so 
that  foals  can  go  in  but  the  mares  cannot.  After  the 
first  foals  learn  to  eat,  they  are  fed  twice  a  day  in 
this  trough,  and  the  later  foals  learn  to  eat  by  imita- 
tion. Sometimes  they  begin  at  two  weeks  old.  They 
are  given  all  the  grain  they  will  eat  twice  a  day,  and, 
after  they  get  well  accustomed  to  eating,  the  feed  is 
mainly  oats.  There  is  no  danger  of  overloading 
them  with  fat  or  injuring  the  joints  when  they  are 
running  out  day  and  night  and  get  plenty  of  exercise. 

^^  All  the  foals  that  are  as  much  as  four  months  old 
are  weaned  about  Oct.  1.  To  do  this  each  mare  is 
tied  at  the  feed  trough  in  a  long  shed  and  her  foal  is 
haltered  and  tied  alongside  with  a  rope  it  cannot 
break.  Of  course,  it  pulls  and  tugs  at  it  for  a  while, 
but  no  damage  is  done.  The  mare  is  right  there  and 
the  youngster  soon  settles  down  to  good  behavior. 
As  the  foals  are  all  thoroughly  accustomed  to  dry 
feed,  they  do  not  miss  the  milk  much,  but  go  right  on 
eating  and  growing.  The  mares  are  fed  timothy 
hay  alone  and  milked  dry  twice  a  day  for  a  few  days. 
It  helps  if  one  greases  the  udders  with  warm  lard. 
After  the  milk  is  dried  up  the  mares  are  turned  out 
on  pasture  and  fed  grain  in  preparation  for  winter. 
The  weanlings  are  given  the  open  shed  for  shelter 
and  run  on  pasture  for  sixty  days,  with  grain.  They 
are  likely  to  get  wormy  at  this  time  and  rock  salt 
is  a  useful  preventive. 

''Beginning  in  December  the  colts  are  put  in  box- 
stalls,  two  or  three  together,  at  night,  and  turned 


SELECTION,  CARE  AISTD   MANAGEMENT  541 

out  to  pasture  in  the  daytime.  Tliey  are  fed  oats, 
bran,  slielled  corn,  chopped  cane,  oilmeal  and  alfalfa 
hay,  all  they  will  eat.  The  colts  grow  faster  and  de- 
velop a  greater  feeding  capacity  on  alfalfa  hay  than 
they  used  to  have  when  we  fed  mixed  timothy  and 
clover.  Their  grain  is  principally  oats.  The  first 
winter  is  a  critical  time  with  a  colt.  If  fed  so  as  to 
grow  well  up  to  the  age  of  12  months,  the  colt  may 
be  kept  going  easily  enough  on  good  pasture  in  sum- 
mer and  rich  hay  in  winter,  supplemented  with 
enough  grain  to  maintain  a  good  degree  of  flesh,  so 
that  there  is  no  lack  of  nourishment  at  any  time  in 
the  year." 

Lee  Brothers. — Selection  and  care  of  breeding 
stock  is  discussed  by  Mr.  J.  H.  Lee  of  this  well- 
known  Kansas  firm: 

'*The  selection  of  a  stallion  to  use  either  on  pure- 
bred or  grade  mares  should  be  studied  carefully. 
One  should  exercise  his  very  best  judgment,  not  only 
as  to  the  animal's  individuality  and  breeding,  but 
as  to  whr.t  he  will  do  in  the  stud.  One  horse  may 
be  a  good  individual  but  be  lacking  in  bone,  another 
in  sine,  and  so  on. 

^^In  all  our  experience  we  have  found  it  easy  to 
right  a  wrong  early,  not  waiting  until  we  have  one 
or  two  crops  of  colts  and  then  seeing  where  our 
stallion  is  lacking.  Some  localities  want  a  heavy, 
low-down  block;  others  want  a  tall,  rangy,  light- 
boned  horse.  My  idea  of  a  good  Percheron  stallion 
is  one  which  at  the  age  of  three  or  four  weighs  about 
a  ton,  is  black  or  gray  in  colors,  neither  the  low- 
down  kind  or  the  tall,  rangy  kind,  but  one  well  bal- 
anced all  around.  I  want  him  wide  between  the 
eyes  and  with  a  good,  clear  eye.  I  prefer  hazel 
eyes,  as  they  seldom  lose  their  sight.  See  that  his 
ears  are  well  set,  not  pointed  or  drooping,  but  stand- 


542  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERC HERON  HORSE 

ing  up  well  and  about  tlie  same  distance  apart  at 
top  and  bottom.  He  should  show  a  clean-cut  neck 
nicely  set  on  his  shoulders,  with  his  head  up  to 
attract  attention.  I  want  always  to  see  a  wide 
breast  and  clean,  flat  bone,  not  a  meaty,  large  bone 
(it  will  always  give  trouble,  both  in  the  stallion 
and  his  offspring).  Well-set  limbs  are  essential; 
see  that  he  is  not  buck-  or  calf-kneed,  and  that  he 
is  clean  around  his  pastern  joints.  Look  for  side- 
bones;  they  are  considered  by  75  per  cent  of  the 
farmers  as  a  buyer's  trick  to  buy  horses  cheap,  but 
they  have  worked  more  harm  to  the  heavy  horse 
for  market  than  any  other  one  thing  in  the  past 
^ye  years.  See  that  the  horse  has  a  good  hoof,  not 
the  pancake  kind  or  the  narrow,  contracted  kind, 
but  a  well-shaped,  solid  hoof.  If  one  follows  this 
he  will  find  a  good  front  end.  Next  have  the  stallion 
deep  through  the  heart,  close-coupled,  good  of 
withers,  strong  in  topline,  well-sprung  of  rib  and 
with  a  place  to  carry  some  hay,  not  too  sloping  on 
the  hips,  with  a  well-set  hind  leg  clean  at  the  hock, 
no  curbs,  thoroughpins,  bog  or  bone  spavins,  and 
clean  about  his  pasterns.  See  that  his  legs  are  well 
set;  no  one  wants  a  cow-hock  or  a  crooked  leg.  Have 
the  salesman  move  the  horse  from  you,  first  at  a 
walk,  then  at  a  trot;  watch  closely  and  see  that  he 
moves  straight  away,  that  he  is  not  a  paddler  or  a 
weaver. 

^^  Often  high-fed  horses  that  have  had  the  ship- 
ping fever  or  distemper  are  left  weak  in  the  back 
or  a  little  thick  in  the  wind.  My  advice  would  be 
not  to  buy  either  kind  because  he  is  cheap;  in  the 
long  run  he  is  high-priced.  Our  old  stud  sire,  Scip- 
ion,  now  in  his  18th  year,  is  as  clean  as  a  ribbon 
all  over  and  sound,  except  for  being  cut  a  little  in 
the  wind,  due  to  his  age. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  543 

^ '  The  care  of  tlie  stallion  will  show  itself  in  more 
than  one  way.  He  should  have  a  good  boxstall,  if 
possible  25  feet  square,  with  a  high  ceiling  and 
ample  light.  It  should  be  in  a  place  where  he  can 
see  what  is  going  on  around  him,  see  the  other 
horses  come  and  go  and  feel  that  he  is  not  alone. 
A  stallion  likes  company.  Give  him  from  3  to  6 
miles  every  day  to  a  cart  or  at  the  side  of  another 
horse,  and  when  the  breeding  season  is  over  hitch 
him  with  a  steady  horse  and  put  him  to  work.  In 
the  beginning  start  at  light  work,  increasing  it  each 
time,  from  an  empty  wagon  to  a  manure  spreader 
and  hay-hauling,  and  from  that  to  any  kind  of  work 
at  which  he  can  have  plenty  of  time,  so  as  not  to 
become  overheated  or  broken  in  constitution.  Dur- 
ing the  breeding  season  turn  the  stallion  into  a  blue- 
grass  or  clover  pasture  of  2  or  more  acres,  or  at 
least  give  him  a  paddock  200  feet  square,  w^here  he 
can  have  plenty  of  exercise  and  see  everything  that 
is  going  on.  Give  him  plenty  of  good  alfalfa  hay, 
or  perhaps  prairie  hay,  and  feed  him  equal  parts 
by  measure  of  bran  and  oats,  together  with  a  small 
amount  of  corn  chop.  Wet  this  feed  well.  Some 
horses  require  a  greater  amount  of  feed  than  others. 
In  starting  a  new  stallion  in  our  bam  he  is  tried 
out  with  a  very  small  amount  of  feed.  This  is 
increased  little  by  little,  until  we  have  him  eating 
what  we  think  he  should  have.  Our  foreman  re- 
quires one  thing  of  our  feeders — the  horse  rhust  be 
ready  for  every  meal. 

^^In  buying  the  brood  mare  a  man  can  use  almost 
the  same  rules  as  in  buying  a  stallion.  Her  care 
should  be  the  care  of  any  good  horse.  She  may  be 
worked  hard  in  the  field  while  carrying  her  foal, 
if  at  night  she  is  given  a  good  place  to  rest  with 
good  feed.     After  foaling  let  her  rest  for  ten  days 


544  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

or  two  weeks,  rebreeding  lier  on  the  9tli  day  if 
possible.  Then  leave  the  baby  in  a  boxstall,  with 
other  foals  or  alone.  Bring  the  mother  in  from  the 
field  once  between  morning  and  noon  for  her  baby 
to  nurse.  Never  allow  tlie  mare  to  get  too  hot  or 
the  foal  to  nurse  Avhen  the  mare  is  hot. 

^'When  the  foal  is  thirty  days  old  put  some  oats 
where  it  can  nibble  at  them;  increase  the  amount 
as  it  cleans  them  up,  until  oats  may  be  left  in  the  box 
for  the  foal  to  eat  any  time.  As  time  goes  on 
and  the  baby  is  left  at  the  stable,  try  turning  it 
out  in  a  small  pasture  with  a  few  calves  or  foals 
where  it  can  eat  grass  and  get  plenty  of  exercise. 
When  the  foal  is  two  months  old  it  will  not  be  neces- 
sary to  let  it  nurse  between  regular  meal  times,  but 
you  will  have  a  better  colt  if  you  do.  After  the 
foals  are  six  months  old  and  weaned  turn  them 
on  alfalfa  pasture,  if  possible,  and  feed  them  grain 
twice  each  day.  When  the  pasture  is  killed  by  frost 
or  is  too  closely  cropped,  take  them  to  their  winter 
quarters,  preferably  a  place  where  they  can  have 
plenty  of  exercise  all  day  and  a  shed  to  shelter  them 
from  storms  at  night.  Do  not  start  to  put  them  in 
the  closed  barn  or  shed;  let  them  run  in  and  out  at 
any  time;  have  plenty  of  clean  alfalfa  where  they 
can  run  to  it,  and  feed  grain  twice  each  day. 

^'One  reason  that  the  colts  in  this  country  do  not 
mature  so  quickly  as  imported  stock  is  that  we  are 
too  stingy  with  our  feed.  However,  most  of  the 
imported  stallions  have  their  growth  at  two  and 
one-half  years,  while  our  stallions  will  continue  to 
grow  until  five  years  of  age.  We  always  feed  plenty 
of  oats  and  very  little  com  to  growing  colts.  Oats 
make  bone  and  keep  them  growing,  while  corn  makes 
fat  and  in  time  will  bum  out  their  stomachs. 

^  ^  We  let  our  colts  run  together  until  the  December 


KEOTA     .TAT.AP     106186.     SECOXD-rRIZB     TWO-YEAE.-OU>     STALXION.     INTEKNA- 
TIONAL  LIVE   STOCK   EXPOSITION,    1916. 


IVAN   108146.   FIRST-PRIZE  THREE-YEAR-OLD.   OPEN  CLASSES.  AND   CHAMPION 
AMERICAN-BRED    STALLION,    INTERNATIONAL   LIVE    STOCK   EXPOSITION.    1916. 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  545 

or  January  before  they  will  be  two  years  of  age, 
then  put  them  in  boxstalls  and  give  plenty  of  clean 
straw,  alfalfa,  oats,  bran  and  some  chop  feed  wet, 
three  times  each  day.  The  barn  man  should  take 
them  out  of  their  stalls  every  morning  and  clean 
them  well,  even  their  hoofs.  Arrange  so  that  they 
have  a  paddock  to  run  in  at  least  every  other  day. 
' '  Teach  tlie  colt  to  stand  when  out  of  the  stall,  and 
teach  him  to  move.  Let  the  barn  man  start  with 
him,  and  follow,  not  with  a  whip,  but  with  a  corn- 
shuck  to  make  a  shuffling  noise,  something  new  to 
the  colt.  After  a  few  times  he  will  be  moving  like 
a  coacher  when  he  hears  the  shuffling  of  the  shuck, 
and  will  never  know  how  he  learned  it.  Whips  in 
the  showring  have  lost  more  blue  ribbons  for  horses 
than  they  ever  won." 

Dan  Augstin's  Story. — Thirty  years  of  Percheron 
breeding  are  thus  recalled  by  Mr.  Augstin: 

^^Ever  since  I  can  remember  I  have  been  inter- 
ested in  Percherons.  When  only  a  lad  I  used  to  go 
over  to  the  old  Dillon  place  to  'talk  horse'  every 
Sunday  that  mother  would  let  me.  That  was  a  great 
treat  to  me,  as  fine  draft  horses  were  very  scarce  at 
that  time.  I  learned  a  great  deal  in  this  way  about 
the  breeding  and  showyard  records  of  these  good 
horses.  I  made  the  vow  then  that  if  I  ever  got  to 
be  a  man  I  too  would  own  some  Percherons. 

''When  I  first  started  farming  for  myself  I  had 
only  80  acres  of  land  and  was  not  able  to  put  my 
money  in  purebred  Percherons.  I  did  the  next  best 
thing  and  purchased  high-class  grade  mares.  These 
were  bred  to  the  best  Percheron  stallions  in  the 
community.  My  grade  colts  from  such  sires  as  old 
Powerful  and  Kellermann  developed  into  massive, 
big  horses  of  the  right  type.  I  made  a  strenuous 
effort  each  year  to  have  every  mare  have  a  foal,  and 


546  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

it  was  not  long  before  I  had  plenty  of  horses  to  use 
and  some  to  sell.  These  big,  strong-made  colts 
brought  good  prices,  considering  horse  values  at 
that  time.  Soon  I  was  able  to  sell  enough  horses  so 
as  to  buy  more  land.  This  policy  I  have  continued 
to  follow  until  my  farm  now  comprises  a  total  of 
400  acres. 

'^I  bought  my  first  purebred  Percheron  mare  in 
1888.  Seldom  have  I  made  a  mistake  in  buying  a 
mare,  because  I  never  allow  myself  to  be  persuaded 
into  taking  anything  that  is  not  of  good  breeding. 
If  I  buy  a  filly  I  make  sure  that  she  is  out  of  a  mare 
that  produces  the  right  kind  and  does  it  quite  regu- 
larly. I  have  bought  a  few  imported  mares,  whose 
parents  and  past  records  I  could  not  trace  satisfac- 
torily, but  in  so  doing  I  have  always  made  it  a  prac- 
tice to  buy  nothing  except  good  individuals  from 
reliable  importers.  Frequently,  when  times  were 
hard,  I  have  bought  mares  for  which  I  thought  I  was 
paying  twice  as  much  as  they  were  worth.  However, 
I  always  satisfied  myself  before  I  made  such  a  pur- 
chase that  the  mare  was  the  kind  I  wanted.  After 
30  years  of  experience  in  the  business  I  have  found 
that  the  initial  cost  of  an  animal  is  of  little  concern, 
if  it  is  the  right  kind.  Some  mares  are  just  as  high- 
priced  at  $500  as  others  are  at  $1,500. 

^^I  beleve  more  in  Percheron  bloodlines  than  many 
breeders  do.  If  Percheron  breeders  generally  would 
pay  more  attention  to  selecting  animals  of  the  right 
kind  of  breeding,  progress  would  be  made  more  rap- 
idly. Now  that  the  war  has  cut  off  the  importation 
of  horses  from  Europe  and  we  are  trying  to  produce 
the  good  kind  here  at  home,  the  cry  has  gone  up 
from  everywhere,  'I  am  in  need  of  a  good  sire.' 
Breeders  are  just  now  coming  to  realize  that  con- 
structive breeding  of  the  highest  degree  cannot  take 


SELECTION,  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  547 

place  without  the  right  kind  of  bloodlines  to  build 
upon.  Why  have  purebreds  and  pedigrees,  unless  we 
give  preference  to  those  families  that  have  been  pro- 
ducing the  desirable  kind!  When  I  first  started  in 
the  business  I  bred  my  grade  mares  to  the  best  sires 
available  at  a  cost  of  $25  or  $30  for  the  service  fee. 
My  neighbors  thought  I  was  crazy,  but  they  soon 
saw  the  error  of  their  ways. 

*' Frequently  one  hears  it  said,  'I  want  a  stallion  or 
a  mare,  but  I  will  not  buy  anything  but  a  prize- 
winner.'  No  greater  mistake  was  ever  made.  Of 
course  it  is  a  fine  advertisement  to  have  a  champion 
in  the  stud,  but  not  all  champions  produce  cham- 
pions, by  a  long  way.  Many  outstanding  individuals 
come  from  the  common  ranks.  Always  select  the 
very  best  breeding  stock  available ;  but  that  does  not 
mean  that  one  should  purchase  a  prizewinner  and 
turn  down  one  that  is  not.  Many  show  animals  are 
ruined  as  producers  and  many  equally  good  individ- 
uals never  see  the  tanbark.  I  have  made  a  great 
many  mistakes  since  I  first  began,  but  believe  that 
I  have  made  fewer  in  selecting  my  breeding  stock 
than  in  other  ways,  because  I  have  given  bloodlines 
and  individuality  first  importance  and  price  only  sec- 
ond concern. 

^'In  my  early  experiences  at  selling  Percherons  I 
never  permitted  a  man  to  go  away  if  he  really  want- 
ed to  buy  and  would  offer  me  anything  like  a  reason- 
able price.  Here  is  where  so  many  of  our  small 
breeders  make  a  serious  mistake.  They  ask  such  un- 
reasonable prices  that  a  dealer  can  not  buy.  The 
small  breeder  is  not  well  enough  known  to  sell  at 
retail  and  often  holds  his  stock  long  enough  past 
the  right  selling  time  so  that  the  feed  bill  eats  up 
all  the  profit.  Whenever  an  animal  is  looking  at 
its  best  and  one  wants  to  sell  it,  then  is  the  time  to 


548  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

cash  in,  provided  of  course  that  he  can  get  anything 
like  a  reasonable  price.  The  small  breeder  almost 
always  loses  money  if  he  passes  up  a  dealer  who  is 
a  good  buyer,  thinking  that  the  price  ought  to  be 
as  much  as  the  dealer  would  ask  if  the  animal  were 
in  his  own  bam.  That  is  not  good  business  logic. 
Many  breeders  in  this  country  still  have  this  lesson 
to  learn  if  they  are  going  to  produce  breeding  ani- 
mals to  sell  profitably.  The  demand  is  now  wide 
open  for  all  the  good  Percherons  we  can  produce, 
but  the  small  breeder  is  likely  to  stand  in  his  own 
light  by  misjudging  his  stuff  and  thinking  he  has 
an  animal  that  would  warrant  a  long  price,  when 
as  a  matter  of  fact  he  has  only  an  ordinary  individ- 
ual. Effective  selling  goes  a  long  way  toward  mak- 
ing the  business  profitable. 

^'Feed  and  care  are  as  important  as  breeding  and 
individuality.  The  average  breeder  needs  to  be 
schooled  along  this  line  more  than  any  other.  I  have 
proved  to  my  own  satisfaction  that  there  is  nothing 
else  so  essential  as  feed  and  care  in  producing  pure- 
bred draft  horses.  Since  we  began  treating  our  foals 
at  birth  with  antitoxin  streptococci  and  having  them 
come  when  the  mares  can  get  on  the  grass,  we  have 
had  practically  no  deaths.  We  give  them  an  in- 
jection of  this  antitoxin  when  they  are  a  few  hours 
old  and  then  again  in  about  a  week.  Altogether 
too  many  breeders  make  the  mistake  of  having  their 
foals  come  too  early  in  the  spring.  They  are  inclined 
to  be  constipated  because  their  mothers  have  been 
on  dry  feed  so  long.  There  is  also  much  more  danger 
of  other  complications  setting  in  when  dam  and 
youngster  must  be  kept  in  a  stall  for  some  time  with- 
out exercise. 

''I  am  sure  from  my  own  experience,  that  a  far 
larger  percentage  of  the  foals  born  during  the  latter 


SELECTION^  CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  549 

part  of  April  and  May  live  than  of  those  that 
come  in  February  and  March.  I  find  also  that  I  am 
more  successful  in  getting  my  mares  in  foal  by 
breeding  during  the  second  heat  period  after  foaling 
than  on  the  9th  day.  This  gives  them  a  chance  to 
heal  before  being  bred,  as  well  as  to  rest  somewhat 
before  entering  upon  another  year's  work. 

''Just  so  soon  as  the  foal  shows  signs  of  wanting 
to  nibble  grain  I  tie  the  mare  up  and  give  it  a  box 
to  itself.  It  gets  all  the  oats  and  bran  it  will  eat 
from  that  time  on.  We  sprinkle  a  little  shelled  corn 
on  the  oats  and  bran.  Our  foals  seem  to  like  a  little 
corn  particularly  well.  To  this  we  add  a  little  alfalfa 
meal  in  the  winter,  but  not  in  the  summer,  as  the 
molasses  is  likely  to  sour  to  some  extent  and  sweet 
feeds  draw  flies  around  the  feedbox.  A  foal  always 
does  better  if  fed  in  a  clean  box.  Good  alfalfa  and 
clover  hay  are  the  best  roughages.  We  use  these 
feeds  for  all  our  animals,  even  our  mature  show 
horses.  We  never  use  black-strap  molasses,  as  it 
always  causes  more  or  less  digestive  troubles.  It  is 
not  any  trouble  to  get  a  horse  fat  if  it  is  healthy  and 
has  plenty  of  clean  feeds,  with  good  water  to  drink. 

''For  best  results  one  should  keep  the  idle  mares 
that  are  nursing  foals  in  the  barn  in  the  daytime 
during  the  hot  weather  and  turn  them  out  at  night 
on  good  pasture.  Generally  speaking,  we  never  let 
our  foals  go  hungry  from  the  time  they  will  eat  until 
they  are  well  along  toward  maturity.  We  push  our 
stallion  colts  harder  than  we  do  the  fillies  in  order 
to  make  them  salable  sooner.  One  can  not  feed  a 
colt  too  much  of  the  right  kind  of  feed,  if  he  gives 
it  plenty  of  exercise.  We  feed  all  our  weanlings  all 
they  will  eat,  but  keep  them  out  of  doors  in  large 
paddocks  and  pastures  every  day,  unless  it  is  storm- 
ing badly.    Open  sheds  or  large  boxstalls  with  doors 


550  A  HISTOEY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

opening  into  a  large  lot  are  most  suitable  for  de- 
veloping colts  of  this  age.  In  fact  we  handle  all  our 
stallion  colts  in  this  way  until  the  winter  be- 
fore they  are  three  years  old.  Of  course,  if  we  have 
a  colt  which  we  wish  to  fit  for  the  show,  we  keep  him 
by  himself.  In  the  main  we  run  our  stallion  colts 
together,  even  though  we  intend  to  show  them.  It  is 
useless  to  expect  that  one  can  put  on  as  much  flesh 
that  way,  but  he  can  unquestionably  grow  a  more 
rugged  and  sturdy  colt. 

^' Every  man  who  raises  colts  in  this  way  knows 
that  he  has  more  or  less  trouble  with  sore  heels.  The 
fact  that  such  colts  take  an  abundance  of  exercise, 
which  gives  them  a  strong  appetite  to  consume  more 
feed  than  they  otherwise  would,  clearly  overshadows 
such  an  annoyance  as  sore  heels.  We  even  run  our 
two-year-olds,  weighing  1,700  to  1,800  pounds  to- 
gether, but  they  do  not  look  their  best  in  the  show- 
ring.  I  know,  however,  that  they  are  worth  more  to 
the  man  who  l3uys  them  than  if  they  were  kept  up  in 
boxstalls  all  the  time.  By  raising  my  colts  in  this 
way  I  have  very  little  difficulty  with  filled  hocks.  It 
is  more  economical  to  develop  them  by  such  a  method 
because  it  requires  less  labor. 

^ '  Farmers  are  comparatively  busy  most  of  the  year 
and  have  not  the  time  and  in  many  cases  lack  the 
help  to  give  their  stallion  colts  the  exercise  they  need 
if  they  are  kept  shut  up  in  a  barn.  Every  farmer 
can  provide  his  colts  a  good  grass  paddock,  however, 
and  let  them  do  their  own  exercising  while  he  does 
something  else.  Here  is  where  the  French  breeders 
have  the  advantage  of  us.  They  have  unusually  fine 
pastures  and  furthermore  every  effort  is  made  to  im- 
prove them,  because  the  French  breeders  fully  realize 
the  importance  of  developing  draft  colts  out  of  doors. 
My  long  experience  in  developing  stallion  colts  has 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  551 

taught  me  the  importance  of  liberal  feeding,  but 
there  must  be  an  abundance  of  outdoor  exercise, 
preferably  in  good  pastures." 

U.  L.  Burdick. — A  deep  interest  in  Percheron 
breeding  has  been  manifested  by  Mr.  Burdick,  one 
of  the  present  directors  of  the  Percheron  Society, 
and  we  only  regret  that  he  has  not  favored  us  with 
a  more  extended  statement: 

' '  The  essential  features  of  a  draft  stallion  are  good 
feet,  strong,  flat  bone,  and  size  well  balanced  with 
quality.  I  would  not  select  a  horse  with  light  bone, 
nor  with  poor  feet,  nor  with  large  size  unless  he 
had  quality  to  go  with  it.  Nor  would  I  select  a 
horse  with  quality  if  he  did  not  have  size.  I  am 
speaking  about  ranch  conditions  only. 

"Stallions  should  have  plenty  of  good  hay  and 
oats,  and  plenty  of  exercise  in  a  fenced  lot. 

"Brood  mares  must  be  selected  with  as  much  care 
as  the  stallions.  The  fine  little  Percheron  mares 
rarely  make  successful  breeders.  Turn  the  mares 
out  in  a  good  pasture  and  let  them  foal  as  far  away 
from  the  barn  as  possible. 

"We  try  to  get  the  foals  to  eat  oats  as  early  as 
possible,  and  they  do  not  shrink  a  pound  in  weaning. 
Oats,  water  and  hay  left  to  colts  to  take  at  their 
own  will  mature  them  more  quickly  than  any  other 
method.'' 

On  the  Northv/estern  Range — The  following  from 
Kr.  J.  P.  Gammon  of  northern  Wyoming  will  be 
found  of  special  interest : 

"  Thirty-three  years  ago  I  began  the  breeding  of 
Percheron  horses  on  the  range  in  northern  Wyom- 
ing. I  realized  at  that  time  that  in  order  to  be 
successful  in  this  far-western  country  the  horses  I 
raised  must  be  of  a  good  quality,  excelling  the  pam- 


552  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

pered  horses  of  tlie  lower  altitudes  in  breeding  and 
size.  My  start  in  the  business  consisted  of  a  number 
of  hig]i-grade  and  purebred  mares,  of  good  colors 
and  size,  picked  to  conform  to  my  idea  of  what  good 
dams  should  be.  I  chose  for  the  head  of  the  band  an 
imported  stallion  that  weighed  2,140  pounds,  as  good 
a  horse  as  I  could  purchase  at  that  time.  With  this 
start  I  have  been  able  to  build  up  by  the  purchase 
of  new  blood,  always  of  the  best,  until  I  now  have 
a  band  of  Percherons  that  is  the  delight  of  all  who 
see  them. 

^ '  In  the  early  days  the  country  was  new  and  there 
was  plenty  of  good  grass;  the  horses  made  excellent 
growth  and  kept  fat  the  year  around,  running  on 
the  range.  Later,  as  the  country  was  stocked  and 
the  settlers  came  in  large  numbers,  the  range  kept 
getting  shorter,  and  my  horses  came  in  thin  in  the 
spring  instead  of  fat  as  before.  I  saw  that  if  I 
continued  in  the  horse  business  I  would  have  to 
change  with  the  country.  The  day  of  the  range  was 
passing;  it  was  necessary  to  provide  some  means 
of  feeding  through  the  winter,  and  about  the  only 
way  to  do  this  was  to  secure  a  ranch  from  which 
I  could  cut  hay,  and  also  have  pasture  for  use  as  it 
became  necessary.  I  finally  purchased  a  ranch  at 
the  foot  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  where  I  could 
cut  plenty  of  hay  and  raise  grain  and  also  have 
plenty  of  pasture  when  necessary.  Being  close  to 
the  forest  reserve  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  I 
could  also  use  that  in  summer,  giving  the  horses  an 
ideal  summer  pasture  at  the  nominal  cost  of  35  cents 
per  head  for  the  season.  I  have  been  operating  this 
ranch  for  several  years,  using  the  forest  reserve  in 
the  summer.  Late  in  the  fall  I  bring  the  horses  off 
the  mountains  and  feed  them  on  alfalfa  hay  until 
the  grass  starts  in  the  spring.     Under  this  system 


VANDOME    116151,    CHAMPION    STALLION.    KANSAS    STATE   FAIR,    1916. 


GKEiS^AT    80714     (71632).    CHAMPION    STALLION.    ILLINOIS    STATE    FAIR.    1912. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  553 

I  raise  horses  to  maturity  that  would  surprise  the 
average  easterner. 

''About  Jan.  1  I  wean  the  foals,  and  during  the 
first  winter  I  feed  them  oats  and  alfalfa  hay.  I 
find  that  in  this  way  I  can  raise  horses  that  compare 
favorably  with  the  eastern  horses  that  are  fed  hay 
and  grain  throughout  the  year,  and  I  think  we  get 
a  much  more  hardy  and  tougher  horse,  of  immense 
lung  power  and  a  constitution  that  cannot  be  ex- 
celled in  the  lower  altitudes.  One  of  the  noticeable 
things  about  the  horses  raised  in  this  country  is 
that  even  many  of  the  larger  ones  can  be  worked 
all  winter  without  shoes.  Actual  tests  show  that 
the  average  range-bred  and  range-raised  horse  has 
a  bone  as  solid  as  the  Thoroughbred,  and  that  the 
legs  are  usually  free  from  puffs  and  enlargements. 
The  horses  which  I  have  raised  under  western  con- 
ditions are  as  large  as  or  even  larger  than  the  eastern 
horse.  I  have  mares  in  my  band  that  have  never 
tasted  grain,  except  during  the  first  winter  after 
foaling,  that  weigh  from  a  ton  to  2,200  pounds,  and 
I  have  also  had  two-year-old  fillies  weighing  as  much 
as  1,900  pounds. 

*'By  buying  a  young  stallion  in  the  east  and  ma- 
turing him  here  I  get  a  larger  horse  with  more  and 
better  bone  than  would  have  been  the  case  had  he 
remained  in  the  east  until  maturity.  I  account  for 
this  b}^  the  fact  that  our  feeds  are  so  much  stronger 
and  of  so  much  better  quality  than  those  grown  in 
the  eastern  states.  This  is  a  broad  assertion,  but 
our  oats  seldom  make  less  than  40  pounds  to  the 
bushel  and  have  gone  as  high  as  48,  and  I  am 
threshing  today  oats  that  are  yielding  80  bushels 
to  the  acre.  The  last  three  stallions  that  I  bought 
in  the  east  for  my  own  use  prove  to  my  mind  that 
my  assertion  is  true.    Two  of  them  I  bought  as  year- 


554  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

lings,  and  the  other  was  5  months  old  when  pur- 
chased. The  first  two  made  horses  that  weighed 
2,350  pounds,  and  the  other  weighed  2,225  pounds 
as  a  three-year-old. 

* '  The  big  factor  that  has  aided  in  the  development 
of  these  big-boned,  heavy  horses  under  our  condi- 
tions is  the  fact  that  even  the  stallions  that  neces- 
sarily have  been  brought  into  our  herds  have  become 
acclimated  with  a  marked  degree  of  rapidity.  They 
could,  if  the  occasion  demanded,  be  put  under  exactly 
the  same  range  conditions  as  all  the  mares  and  young 
stutf  endure.  There  seems  to  be  something  about 
the  Percheron  that  is  highly  adaptable  to  range 
conditions.  They  can  build  bone  and  size  with 
scarcely  any  grain.  This  is  important  and  should 
not  be  overlooked  by  the  western  horseman  when 
selecting  horses  for  size,  and  horses  that  will  have 
to  rustle  to  no  limited  extent  during  many  months 
of  the  year. 

"Another  pleasing  feature  of  the  horse  business 
under  range  conditions  and  as  we  are  handling  them 
is  the  freedom  from  many  of  the  more  common  dis- 
eases and  unsoundnesses.  Seldom  are  we  confronted 
with  problems  in  doctoring  sick  horses.  Neither  do 
we  have  animals  discarded  because  of  inferior  bone 
or  poor  vitality.  There  is  also  a  noticeable  uni- 
formity in  the  results  of  our  breeding  work.  I  can 
only  account  for  it  by  the  fact  that  our  horses  have 
the  free  use  of  a  large  domain  of  excellent  range, 
plenty  of  good  mountain  water,  hay  of  first  grade 
throughout  the  winter,  a  great  deal  of  work  and 
exercise  for  the  mares  when  kept  in  close  pastures, 
and  the  continuous  freedom  for  exercise  of  all  our 
breeding  stallions.  We  are  giving  to  the  lovers  of 
draft  horses  a  big,  well-made  horse,  tipping  the 
scales  at  more  than  a  ton  and  doing  a  vast  amount 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  555 

of  work — all  from  grazing  on  the  range  and  a  nearly 
grainless  ration.  These  horses  are  transmitting  their 
draft  characteristics  to  their  purebred  offspring  and 
also  are  proving  of  unlimited  value  in  crossing  on 
smaller-typed  horses. 

"Four  good  legs  constitute  the  foundation  of  any 
draft  horse,  and  a  square,  compact,  close-coupled 
body  must  follow  a  close  second.  From  an  expe- 
rience covering  a  long  term  of  years  I  have  reached 
the  conclusion  that  we  can  raise  better  horses  here 
in  the  west,  with  its  pure  air  and  splendid  water 
and  range  conditions,  ideal  for  plenty  of  exercise, 
feeding  them  nothing  but  hay  and  grass,  than  can 
be  raised  under  the  ordinary  eastern  conditions 
where  the  horses  are  fed  all  kinds  of  feed  during 
tlie  entire  year.  Our  horses  are  as  large  as  the 
eastern  horses,  and  more  free  from  blemishes  or 
imperfections.  It  has  also  been  my  observation  that 
the  Percheron  is  one  of  the  best  rustlers  of  any  of 
the  draft  breeds,  often  going  through  the  winter 
under  the  same  conditions  as  the  common  range 
animal  and  many  of  them  coming  out  in  the  spring 
in  good  shape  and  fit  for  work.  The  tendency  in 
this  country  is  toward  the  Percheron,  with  better 
sires  and  dams  than  were  found  a  few  years  ago. 
In  a  large  number  of  the  horses  of  the  Percheron 
breed  that  I  see  today  on  the  farms  of  this  county 
I  can  trace  a  resemblance  to  my  first  sire,  brought 
into  the  country  years  ago.  With  the  passing  of  the 
years  this  improvement  will  be  more  noticeable." 

Management  of  Foals  and  Yearlings. — We  are  in- 
debted to  Messrs.  M.  C.  Hodgson  &  Sons  for  this 
statement  of  their  experience  in  the  feeding  and  de- 
velopment of  young  stock: 

''At  the  very  outset,  credit  must  be  given  to  Eli 
Hodgson,  father  of  M.  C.  Hodgson  and  grandfather 


556  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERGHERON  HORSE 

of  the  younger  members  of  our  firm,  for  much  of 
the  success  that  has  accrued  to  us  in  our  Percheron 
operations.  His  sound  counsel  in  regard  to  the  se- 
lection of  foundation  animals  and  the  feeding  and 
management  of  young  ones  has  been  of  incalculable 
value.  While  we  have  gained  some  things  from  long 
experience,  the  fundamentals  on  which  our  success 
has  been  based  have  come  largely  from  Eli  Hodg- 
son. 

^'For  some  years  we  had  our  foals  come  in  Feb- 
ruary and  March,  because  early-born  colts  have  an 
advantage  in  the  showring  and  in  selling.  But  after 
many  years  of  experience  we  have  changed  the  time 
of  foaling,  and  now  have  our  foals  coming  during 
the  latter  part  of  April  and  in  May.  We  would 
much  rather  have  them  foaled  in  June  than  in 
March.  Our  experience  has  shown  us  conclusively 
that  the  mares  foal  more  easily,  the  foals  have  more 
vitality,  and  the  percentage  of  loss  is  much  lower 
with  the  later  foals.  Under  conditions  prevailing 
in  our  latitude  it  is  possible  for  our  mares  to  foal 
out  on  pasture  after  Apil  15,  and  they  do  foal  on 
pasture  in  the  great  majority  of  cases.  A  good 
bluegrass  pasture,  well  exposed  to  the  sun,  is  the 
safest  place  we  have  found  in  which  to  have  a  mare 
drop  her  offspring.  We  let  the  mare  run  out  day 
and  night,  unless  a  bad  storm  comes  up,  in  which 
case  we  put  her  in  a  boxstall  if  she  is  near  foaling. 
In  such  case  we  take  particular  pains  to  see  that 
the  stall  is  thoroughly  cleaned  and  disinfected  with 
one  of  the  coaltar  dips.  We  then  put  in  some  clean 
straw  and  sprinkle  more  disinfectant  over  this.  Our 
plan  of  having  the  mares  foal  on  pasture  when  it  is 
possible,  and  to  put  them  in  thoroughly  cleaned,  well- 
disinfected  stalls  in  the  few  instances  when  it  is 
necessary  to  have  them  foal  inside,  has  enabled  us 


SELECTION^   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  557 

to  reduce  the  loss  through  navel-ill  to  a  minimum. 
*  *  We  keep  careful  records  of  the  breeding  dates  of 
our  mares.  We  know  when  they  are  about  to  foal, 
and  from  long  experience  we  have  learned  to  tell 
quite  accurately  about  when  they  are  to  drop  foals. 
We  make  it  a  rule  to  be  with  the  mare  when  she 
foals,  whether  in  the  pasture  or  in  the  barn,  either 
night  or  day,  for  if  a  mare  does  not  foal  safely  within 
30  minutes  from  the  time  she  starts,  intelligent  help 
must  be  given. 

"Besides  having  been  able  to  save  more  foals  by 
having  the  mares  foal  fairly  late,  we  have  found 
that  mares  are  much  more  apt  to  become  pregnant 
if  bred  after  the  grass  is  good  and  they  have  begun 
to  make  satisfactory  gains  on  pasture.  Any  ex- 
perienced stallion  owner  will  testify  that  mares  bred 
in  March  and  April  are  hard  to  settle.  This  is  of  no 
slight  importance  when  every  effort  is  being  made 
to  get  every  mare  safely  in  foal. 

"After  the  foals  are  dropped,  they  run  with  their 
mothers  in  pasture  night  and  day  until  hot  weather 
and  flies  begin  to  cause  trouble.  They  are  started 
on  grain  feed  when  they  are  about  four  weeks  of 
age.  As  soon  as  the  mares  begin  to  bunch  up  in 
the  pasture  and  fight  flies,  we  adopt  the  plan  of 
housing  the  mares  and  foals  in  a  cool,  partially  dark- 
ened barn  during  the  daytime.  They  are  put  in 
about  7  0  'clock  in  the  morning  and  left  in  until  4  or  5 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  Each  mare  is  tied  in  a 
roomy  double  stall,  which  has  two  feed  boxes  and  a 
manger  for  hay.  The  mares  are  fed  grain  twice  a 
day,  and  as  soon  as  the  foals  have  learned  to  eat  they 
are  given  some  grain  in  a  separate  feedbox  beside 
their  dams.  The  youn ousters  are  not  tied  up,  but  run 
loose  in  the  barn,  which  has  a  wide  central  alleyway 
where  they  are  at  liberty. 


558  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 


iC 


For  roughage  we  place  mixed  clover  and  timothy 
hay  in  the  mangers  for  the  mares  and  foals.  We 
also  place  some  bright  alfalfa  hay  in  a  separate  place 
where  the  foals  have  access  to  it.  Both  mares  and 
foals  are  allowed  all  the  hay  they  will  eat,  but  when 
they  are  on  good  pasture  they  do  not  utilize  very 
large  amounts.  Our  grain  ration  is  the  same  for  the 
mares  and  foals,  and  consists  of  bran  and  oats  mixed 
in  the  proportion  of  2  bushels  of  oats  to  1  of  bran. 
This  is  mixed  and  fed  dry.  The  mares  are  allowed 
a  moderate  ration  of  this — about  a  half-pound  per 
100  pounds  of  live  weight.  A  mare  weighing  1,600 
pounds  will  receive  about  8  pounds  of  the  grain 
ration  per  day.  This  is  divided  into  two  feeds,  morn- 
ing and  evening.  The  foals  are  allowed  all  of  this 
grain  mixture  that  tliey  will  eat  up  at  two  feeds 
per  day,  although  we  take  the  precaution  to  see  that 
they  are  not  given  enough  to  cause  them  to  leave 
any  grain  in  their  feedboxes  from  one  feed  to  the 
next. 

^'Both  the  mares  and  foals  are  turned  out  about 
4:30  or  5  o'clock  in  the  evening,  and  run  on  blue- 
grass  pasture  all  night,  being  taken  in  again  in  the 
morning.  This  general  policy  is  continued  through- 
out the  entire  summer.  The  bam  doors  are  closed 
in  the  daytime,  and  tlie  barn  is  partially  darkened, 
so  that  the  flies  cause  little  trouble. 

^ '  We  do  not  work  mares  that  are  nursing  foals,  as 
we  usually  have  enough  dry  mares  or  young  horses 
to  do  our  farm  work.  We  believe  that  we  get  better 
results  with  the  foals  by  not  requiring  the  mares 
that  are  nursing  them  to  do  anything  while  they 
are  raising  their  offspring.  Our  policy  of  giving 
some  grain  to  the  mares  while  they  are  nursing  foals 
may  be  objected  to  by  some,  but  we  have  found 
that  it  increases  the  milk  flow  and  contributes  ma- 


LACTIXE  101472    (100912),   RESERVE   SENIOR   CHAMPION  JIARE,   INTERNATIONAL 
L.TVE   STOCK   EXPOSITION,    1916. 


TURQUOISE    110346,     FIRST-PRIZE    T^VO-YEAR-OLD    AND    RESERVE    CHAJMPION 
MARE.    INTERNATIONAL   LIVE   STOCK    EXPOSITION,    1916. 


SELECTION^   CARE   AND  MANAGEMENT  559 

terially  to  the  rapid  development  of  tlie  youngsters. 
''We  make  it  a  rule  to  wean  the  foals  about  Nov. 
1.  They  have  been  haltered  some  time  before  this, 
but  are  not  tied  up  until  we  are  ready  to  wean 
them.  AVe  place  a  strong  leather  halter  on  each 
one,  but  also  take  the  precaution  to  run  a  rope 
through  the  halter  rings  and  tie  it  around  the  neck, 
fastening  it  to  the  manger,  so  that  there  is  no  possi- 
bility of  a  colt's  breaking  loose  when  first  tied,  there- 
by acquiring  bad  habits.  The  mares  are  turned  out 
in  pasture  but  are  brought  back  the  following  day 
and  the  foals  are  allowed  to  strip  them  out  once. 
After  this  the  mares  are  turned  back  in  a  separate 
pasture  and  do  not  see  their  young  again  for  some 
weeks.  The  foals  are  kept  tied  up  for  two  or  three 
days,  until  they  have  become  accustomed  to  the 
halters  and  have  forgotten  in  some  degree  about 
their  mothers.  We  then  begin  turning  them  out 
during  the  daytime,  keeping  them  tied  up  at  night. 
We  take  the  time  at  this  period  in  their  growth  to 
halter-break  them  thoroughly.  From  this  time  until 
the  following  May  they  are  turned  out  regularly 
on  bluegrass  pasture  every  day  and  are  kept  in  at 
night.  The  only  exception  to  this  is  in  case  of  a 
cold,  wet  storm  during  the  winter.  They  are  kept 
in  out  of  the  stoim. 

^'From  the  time  the  foals  are  weaned  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring  we  give  them  alfalfa  hay  for  rough- 
age, and  for  grain  allow  each  about  3  ears  of  corn 
per  day,  and  in  addition  to  this  all  of  the  oats  and 
bran  mixture  they  will  eat.  This  system  is  followed 
until  the  pasture  grass  is  very  good  the  following 
spring,  usually  about  the  10th  or  15tli  of  May.  From 
this  time  until  the  hot  weather  and  flies  begin  to 
bother  the  colts  they  are  allowed  to  run  out  on 
pasture,  both  night  and  day.    The  stallions  are  sep- 


560  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

arated  from  tlie  fillies  about  this  time,  and  the  year- 
ling stallions  are  kept  in  the  barn  during  the  day. 
We  have  a  half-basement  barn  which  is  fairly  cool 
during  the  summer,  and  turn  the  yearling  stallions 
into  it  during  the  day.  This  is  partially  darkened 
and  some  burlap  strips  hanging  down  protect  the 
colts  from  the  flies.  Our  yearling  stallions  receive 
the  oats  and  bran  mixture,  fed  three  times  a  day 
throughout  the  entire  summer  and  fall.  They  are 
given  about  all  they  will  clean  up.  In  addition  to 
this,  they  have  access  to  mixed  clover  and  timothy 
hay,  and  alfalfa  when  we  have  it.  This  is  given  to 
them  in  the  mangers  during  the  day  in  the  bam.  At 
night  they  run  out  on  bluegrass  pasture. 

"We  usually  have  from  6  to  12  yearling  stallions 
that  are  handled  in  this  way.  They  are  all  allowed 
to  run  together.  It  occasionally  happens  that  one 
will  get  his  heels  tramped  on  by  some  of  the  others, 
but  by  watching  closely  and  by  taking  such  a  colt 
out  immediately  we  have  little  trouble.  It  is  of 
course  necessary  to  use  some  carbolic  salve,  or 
something  of  the  kind,  on  the  injured  part  until  it 
heals  up,  but  as  soon  as  this  is  done,  the  colt  is  turned 
out  again  with  the  rest  of  the  bunch.  We  have  not 
had  much  difficulty  on  this  score. 

"The  yearling  fillies  are  usually  turned  with  the 
two-year-old  fillies  into  a  separate  pasture,  where 
they  run  out  both  night  and  day  throughout  the 
entire  summer.  We  do  not  feed  any  hay  to  the  fillies, 
but  give  them  a  moderate  ration  of  the  oats  and  bran 
mixture.  This  is  given  twice  a  day.  Their  allow- 
ance probably  amounts  to  half-a-pound  per  100 
pounds  of  live  weight  per  day. 

' '  In  November  or  December  we  begin  tying  up  the 
yearling  stallions  at  night,  but  allow  them  to  run  out 
during  the  day.    From  this  time  until  the  following 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND  MANAGEMENT  561 

spring,  or  until  they  are  sold,  these  stallions  coming 
two  years  old  receive  about  5  ears  of  corn  each  per 
day,  and  in  addition  all  of  the  oats  and  bran  mixture 
that  they  will  clean  up.  They  are  fed  three  times 
per  day.  For  hay,  we  continue  with  the  mixed  clover 
and  timothy,  although  we  would  feed  alfalfa  if  we 
had  enough  of  it  to  supply  all  of  our  horses.  So  far 
we  have  not  had  enough,  and  so  have  retained  it  for 
the  younger  colts. 

^'The  fillies  coming  two  years  old  are  tied  up, 
when  we  have  room.  If  we  do  not  have  enough  room, 
they  are  allowed  to  run  loose  in  the  shed,  where  they 
are  protected  from  the  cold  storms  and  where  they 
may  take  refuge  during  the  night,  but  they  are  out 
every  day  during  the  winter  on  pasture. 

^'By  following  these  general  methods  we  have 
made  excellent  gains  on  our  foals  and  yearlings.  We 
have  found  it  very  advantageous  to  keep  the  mares 
and  foals  in  and  protected  from  the  hot  weather  and 
the  flies,  as  our  own  experience  and  our  observa- 
tion of  operations  on  other  farms  have  satisfied  us 
that  extreme  heat  and  flies  materially  retard  the 
development  of  foals.  We  have  been  able  to  secure 
quite  satisfactory  growth  in  bone  and  muscle.  Our 
colts  have  matured  into  rugged,  heavy-boned,  mas- 
sive draft  horses,  standing  from  16%  to  17  hands  in 
height  by  the  time  they  are  24  months  of  age.  The 
weight  varies  with  individual  colts,  but  they  are 
deep-bodied,  well-proportioned,  and  with  size  and 
weight  enough  to  balance  their  height  and  general 
development.  We  believe  our  policies  of  feeding  and 
management  of  yearlings  and  w^eanlings  are  justified 
by  the  results.  We  seldom  have  had  any  two-year- 
olds  left  unsold.  If  we  do  carry  over  a  colt,  it  is 
usually  one  that  we  want  to  develop  or  use  in  our 
own  stud.    We  have  realized  substantial  prices  for 


562  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

tlie  colts  of  our  own  breeding  and  raising  by  the 
time  tliey  were  from  20  to  24  months  of  age. 

''It  is  quite  likely  tliat  our  policy  of  liberal  feed- 
ing might  not  be  justified  if  good  breeding  and 
Percheron  type  did  not  exist  in  the  colts  to  which 
this  system  was  applied.  The  colts  which  we  have 
raised,  however,  have  been  bred  by  us  from  mares 
whose  dams  and  grandams,  and  in  some  cases  their 
great-grandams,  were  bred  by  the  members  of  our 
own  family. 

"Eli  and  M.  C.  Hodgson  made  an  importation  of 
12  weanling  fillies  in  1881.  All  of  the  mares  now  in 
our  stud  trace  back  to  three  of  the  twelve,  which  is 
merely  an  indication  of  the  careful  attention  that  we 
have  given  to  eliminating  animals  that  did  not  sat- 
isfy us  in  type.  On  the  other  hand,  we  have  held 
fast  to  the  most  desirable  strains  that  have  come 
into  our  possession,  and  never  have  permitted  any- 
one to  purchase  our  best  mares.  By  persistently 
retaining  our  best  mares  and  by  the  long-continued 
use  of  good  sires,  we  have  been  able  to  produce  a 
band  of  mares  that  are  of  good  type,  excellent  in 
set  of  legs,  good  in  the  feet,  and  real  producers  of 
rugged,  drafty  colts  which  have  found  a  ready  sale 
before  they  were  two  years  of  age.  We  are  satisfied 
that  the  tendency  to  breed  regularly,  the  tendency 
to  prolificacy,  is  just  as  certainly  transmitted  as  color 
or  type;  we  have  held  fast  to  our  most  prolific 
strains. 

"Any  breeder  who  will  select  good  foundation 
stock,  breed  to  good  sires,  and  follow  out  intelligent- 
ly the  same  general  methods  in  feeding  and  man- 
agement cannot  fail  to  realize  substantial  profits 
from  his  Percherons,  but  emphasis  must  be  placed 
on  persistent,  patient,  never-ending  watchfulness.'' 

Feeding  Alfalfa^Mr.  J.  C.  Robison  of  Towanda, 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  563 

Kans.,  lias  this  to  say  about  the  use  of  this  great 
forage  plant  in  connection  with  horse  breeding: 

' '  My  father  sowed  the  first  piece  of  alfalfa  in  this 
county  in  the  spring  of  1895.  We  have  increased 
the  acreage  until  now  we  have  about  1,000  acres  of 
it.  We  have  pastured  it  a  little,  but  find  it  does 
not  pay  to  do  that,  as  we  get  so  much  more  feed 
from  the  same  acreage  by  mowing  it  and  feeding 
as  hay. 

''If  the  alfalfa  is  cut  when  about  one-tenth  in 
bloom,  we  experience  no  bad  results  from  feeding 
it,  either  from  heaves  or  in  any  other  way.  Our 
Percherons  are  allowed  to  run  to  the  alfalfa  stacks 
or  to  eat  as  much  as  they  like  in  the  bams,  and  I 
am  sure  we  are  able  to  put  on  more  pounds  of  flesh 
and  make  more  growth,  both  in  bone  and  muscle, 
than  on  any  other  feed  with  a  smaller  amount  of 
grain.  We  prefer  to  mix  with  it  some  kind  of  coarse, 
rough  feed,  such  as  sugar-cane  hay,  shock  corn  or 
straw,  as  the  horses  crave  these  feeds  when  given 
alfalfa. 

''Alfalfa  has  been  the  salvation  of  Kansas  and  the 
west.'' 

The  experience  of  J.  A.  Gifford,  Twin  Falls  Co., 
Idaho,  in  feeding  alfalfa  seems  of  particular  value. 
He  says: 

"When  living  in  Kansas  in  1896  I  seeded  50  acres 
to  alfalfa.  The  stand  was  good.  I  cut  the  weeds 
with  a  mowing  machine,  carrying  the  cutterbar  high 
enough  so  as  not  to  injure  the  alfalfa,  and  let  them 
lie.  The  next  year  I  cut  the  alfalfa  and  stacked  it 
in  the  field.  When  I  came  to  the  tops  and  bottoms 
of  the  stacks,  that  hay  was  fed  on  the  ground,  the 
horses  being  allowed  to  eat  as  much  of  it  as  they 
would.    They  began  to  show  signs  of  heaves.    After 


564  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

I  built  barns,  I  no  longer  fed  damaged  hay  to  my 
horses,  and  I  have  seen  no  signs  of  heaves  among 
them  since. 

"I  have  raised  colts  from  birth  to  maturity  on 
grain  and  alfalfa  hay,  and  they  have  made  before 
weaning  time  from  100  to  150  pounds  of  gain  a 
month.  I  expect  a  colt  from  5  to  6  months  old  to 
weigh  from  700  to  800  pounds,  and  at  12  months 
about  1,200  pounds.  I  want  more  mature  hay  for 
horses  than  for  cattle,  and  they  should  clean  it  all 
up  each  time  it  is  fed.  I  consider  one  acre  of  alfalfa 
cut  and  fed  judiciously  worth  more  than  two  acres 
pastured.  By  judicious  feeding  I  mean  to  give  no 
more  than  will  be  cleaned  up  each  time. 

''I  have  had  experience  in  both  stacking  and 
housing  hay;  I  am  strongly  in  favor  of  housing.  I 
built  a  haybarn  in  the  middle  of  an  alfalfa  field, 
intending  to  cure  the  hay  in  the  windrow,  with  buck 
rakes  take  it  to  barn,  drop  it  from  the  rake  to  a 
sling,  and  so  get  it  into  the  barn.  But  I  found  that 
the  dew,  without  any  rain,  bleached  the  hay,  and 
I  decided  to  shock  it.  I  could  not  handle  it  satis- 
factorily with  rakes,  and  so  laid  them  aside.  I  made 
floats,  7  by  14  feet  with  a  railing  2  feet  high  at  each 
end.  On  each  of  these  I  laid  a  sling,  with  each  end 
fastened  to  the  top  of  the  railing.  These  I  put  on 
a  slingload,  drove  to  the  barn,  hooked  onto  the  sling, 
and  put  the  hay  into  barn.  No  leaves  were  wasted. 
I  am  highly  pleased  with  this  method  of  handling 
hay. 

"I  regard  alfalfa  as  the  best  hay  for  growing 
out  any  kind  of  stock  that  I  ever  fed.  I  am  careful 
not  to  put  it  into  bam  in  such  a  condition  that  it 
will  mow-burn.'' 

Importance  of  Soundness. — Mr.  J.  S.  Golder,  a  Ne- 
braska breeder  of  long  experience,  gives  some  useful 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  565 

hints  to  beginners,  especially  in  reference  to  the 
matter  of  nnsonndness  in  draft  breeding  stock.  He 
says : 

' '  To  the  young  man  setting  out  to  own  a  team  of 
high-class  Percheron  mares  I  would  say,  start  right, 
however  small  the  beginning  may  be.  If  he  has  only 
the  one  mare  and  she  is  a  good  one,  he  need  not  be 
ashamed  to  show  her.  If  he  can  take  that  one  mare 
to  the  fair  and  get  first  prize  on  her,  he  will  have 
done  something  that  many  an  older  and  larger 
breeder  has  never  accomplished. 

^^Many  people  have  an  idea  that  purebred  mares 
require  more  care  than  grades.  This  is  entirely  er- 
roneous. They  do  not  require  it ;  but  somehow  they 
seem  to  get  it,  which  goes  with  the  spirit  of  success. 
In  order  to  begin  right,  I  would  impress  upon  the 
prospective  buyer  to  buy  them  sound.  Do  not 
squeeze  the  eagle  too  hard.  Use  good  judgment  and 
buy  them  sound.  I  would  rather  have  one  good  one 
and  have  her  sound  than  half-a-dozen  good  ones  and 
have  them  unsound.  When  you  go  out  to  buy  an 
animal  and  find  it  a  little  coarse  in  the  pastern,  turn 
it  down,  and  hard  at  that.  If  you  hesitate,  the  seller 
may  try  to  cover  it  up  with  a  lot  of  excuses.  Then 
one  asks  himself  whether  it  will  breed  on.  Of  course 
it  will,  not  only  for  one  generation,  but  through  half- 
a-dozen.  I  know  for  sure  that  it  will  persist  for  three 
generations.  It  matters  not  whether  it  is  a  coarse 
pastern  or  a  coarse  hock,  bad  eyes  or  bad  wind,  they 
are  all  the  same  when  it  comes  to  breeding. 

^ '  I  once  bought  a  stallion.  He  was  a  good  one,  but 
developed  a  sidebone  at  the  age  of  four.  Most  of 
his  colts  developed  sidebones  at  the  age  of  two.  More 
than  that,  nearly  every  one  of  his  fillies  passed  them 
on.  We  were  forced  to  put  them  all  on  the  auction 
block  and  sell  them  as  coarse  in  the  pasterns  for  what 


566  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

they  would  bring.    While  some  thought  they  went 
cheaply,  and  they  did,  they  were  dear  too. 

^^I  believe  that  the  horse  business  now  has  the 
brightest  future  that  it  has  known  in  many,  many 
years.  With  the  importations  cut  off,  American 
dealers  find  that  they  can  get  just  about  what  they 
want  at  home,  and  perhaps  somewhat  cheaper.  The 
American  farmer  and  breeder  can  raise  them  just  as 
good  and  big  as  they  can  in  France  if  he  will.  We 
have  just  as  good  feeds  and  much  more  room  to  ex- 
ercise them  in.  That  is  another  place  where  the 
young  breeder  makes  a  mistake — not  giving  enough 
feed  of  the  right  kind,  and  not  enough  exercise.  Feed 
liberally  of  the  right  sort  of  feeds,  such  as  oats,  bran, 
alfalfa,  clover  and  such,  and  do  not  confine  the  horses 
to  a  boxstall.'' 

Growing  Purebred  Percheron  Fillies. — Prof.  J.  L. 
Edmonds  of  the  Illinois  Agricultural  Experiment 
Station  summarizes  the  results  of  careful  study  of 
this  subject  at  the  University  of  Illinois  farm  in  the 
following  language: 

"Well-bred  young  things  deserve  good  feeding. 
They  demand  it,  if  profits  are  duly  considered.  Their 
growing-out  should  permit  the  fullest  development 
of  inherent  possibilities. 

"A  record  of  the  feed  consumption  and  increase  in 
weight  and  height  of  a  lot  of  10  purebred  Percheron 
weanling  fillies,  foaled  in  1914,  was  made  at  the  Illi- 
nois Experiment  Station.  These  fillies  were  carried 
through  two  winters  and  one  summer — from  late  in 
the  fall  of  the  year  in  which  they  were  foaled  until 
they  were  ready  to  be  turned  on  grass  as  two-year- 
olds. 

"These  fillies  were  fed  home-grown  rations.  The 
grain  feeds  were  oats  and  corn,  one-half  of  each  by 


TUMBLER  BACK  FOR  COLT- FEEDING   1\ )CKS.— SEE  ART 

BY    PROF.    EDMONDS. 


A 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  567 

weight.  Grain  was  fed  three  times  per  day,  except 
when  the  fillies  were  on  grass;  then  it  was  fed  twice 
per  day.  During  the  first  winter  the  oats  and  corn 
were  ground.  Alfalfa  hay  was  the  sole  roughage 
used;  it  was  fed  twice  per  day,  except  when  the 
fillies  were  on  pasture,  during  a  part  of  which  time 
no  hay  was  fed;  after  the  pasture  became  short  hay 
was  fed  once  per  day.  More  grain  would  have  been 
eaten  than  was  fed.  With  the  alfalfa  hay,  however, 
the  aim  throughout  the  trial  was  to  feed  as  much  of 
it  as  would  be  thoroughly  cleaned  up.  Alfalfa,  corn 
and  oats  were  the  feeds  selected,  because  it  was  de- 
sired to  obtain  good  results  with  farm  feeds  without 
recourse  to  purchased  mill  feeds.  The  pasture,  8 
acres  in  area,  was  bluegrass,  with  a  slight  mixture 
of  timothy,  orchard  grass  and  medium  red  and  white 
clover. 

''During  the  first  few  weeks  the  fillies  were 
allowed  as  much  grain  and  hay  as  they  would  readily 
consume.  This,  although  it  resulted  in  good  gains, 
did  not  seem  to  be  a  profitable  or  entirely  safe  pro- 
cedure, because  of  the  high  grain  consumption.  Ac- 
cordingly the  grain  ration  was  gradually  restricted 
until  it  was  reduced  to  an  amount  which  insured  the 
consumption  of  a  pound  or  more  of  alfalfa  hay  per 
day  to  the  hundredweight.  Experience  here  would 
seem  to  indicate  that  a  liberal  portion  of  well-cured 
legume  hay  should  be  the  foundation  for  feeding 
young,  growing  horses.  In  addition  to  the  legume 
roughage,  enough  grain  should  be  fed  to  produce 
good  growth.  The  feed  sheets  indicate  that  as  the 
individual  becomes  older,  it  is  possible  and  desirable 
to  decrease  the  proportion  of  grain  and  increase  the 
proportion  of  hay  and  still  obtain  excellent  results. 
Alfalfa  hay  fed  with  corn  and  oats  gave  results  of 
a  character  which  indicate  that  there  is  little  or  no 


568  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

need  of  feeding  bran  or  other  purchased  mill  feeds 
when  a  good  quality  of  alfalfa  hay  can  be  grown  on 
the  faiTii.  Alfalfa  hay,  because  of  its  high  protein 
and  mineral  content,  especially  calcium,  is  suited 
to  grow  the  heavy  muscles  and  large,  strong  bones 
which  are  necessary  for  the  real  drafter.  A  greener, 
leafier  quality  of  hay  was  fed  to  these  fillies  than 
usually  gives  the  best  results  when  fed  to  hard- 
worked  horses.  In  the  case  of  these  growing  fillies 
it  was  not  found  necessary,  as  is  the  case  with  ma- 
ture animals,  to  limit  the  amount  of  alfalfa  hay 
which  was  fed.  Furthermore,  when  alfalfa  hay  is 
the  roughage  used,  a  considerable  proportion  of  the 
grain  ration,  in  this  trial  one-half  by  weight,  may 
be  corn,  the  grain  grown  in  greatest  quantity  in  the 
middle  west. 

' '  From  this  and  similar  trials  it  seems  quite  clear 
that  in  addition  to  liberal  grain-feeding  to  growing 
drafters,  which  is  admittedly  necessary  and  import- 
ant, the  development  of  size  and  quality  of  bone  is 
also  intimately  associated  with  the  grazing  on  pas- 
ture of  nutritious  grasses  and  clovers,  and  the  feed- 
ing of  good  legume  roughages  during  seasons  when 
such  pasture  is  not  available.  In  this  test  desirable 
growth  was  made  on  pasture  which  was  not  fully 
indicated  by  the  weights  of  the  fillies.  On  most 
farms  the  use  of  more  pasture  than  was  available 
in  this  trial  would  be  of  advantage.  A  grain  feed 
of  approximately  V2  of  a  pound  of  grain  per  day 
to  the  hundredweight  of  filly  seems  to  be  enough 
to  produce  proper  development  on  pasture. 

''Since,  as  the  experiment  showed,  45.35  bushels 
of  corn,  79.36  bushels  of  oats,  2.58  tons  of  alfalfa, 
and  %  of  an  acre  of  good  pasture  kept  an  individual 
of  the  kind  used  in  thrifty  and  salable  condition 
from  the  fall  of  the  year  in  which  it  was  foaled 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  569 

up  to  the  time  wlien  it  was  two  years  of  age,  it 
would  seem  worth,  while  to  grow  out  well-bred 
young  drafters  properly.  Thus  we  may  obtain  the 
size  and  finish  which  experience  has  shown  to  be 
necessary  for  the  greatest  remuneration. 

^  ^  The  accompanying  table  is  of  interest,  because  it 
gives  feed  consumption  and  gains  by  seasons.  The 
table  shows  that  the  largest  and  quickest  gain  for 
the  feed  consumed  was  made  during  the  first  winter. 
During  the  first  winter  an  average  of  5.674  pounds 
of  grain  and  4.266  pounds  of  hay  were  required  per 
pound  of  gain.  The  second  winter-feeding  period 
required  an  average  of  9.228  pounds  of  gTain  and 
12.99  pounds  of  hay,  the  average  grain  requirement 
per  pound  of  gain  being  at  this  time  almost  twice  as 
much  and  the  hay  requirement  slightly  over  three 
times  as  much  as  it  was  during  the  first  winter.  The 
table  showing  the  results  in  detail  follows. 

^*A  study  of  these  figures  would  seem  to  show  the 
fallacy  of  attempting  to  make  good  draft  horses  by 
roughing  weanlings  through  the  winter,  with  stunted 
yearlings  as  a  result.  Continued  liberal  feeding 
through  the  summer  and  the  succeeding  winter  made 
big,  growthy,  two-year-old  fillies  that  were  much 
nearer  maturity  than  if  they  had  been  forced  to  sub- 
sist on  a  ration  too  limited  in  either  or  both  the 
quantity  and  quality  of  the  nutritients  which  it  con- 
tained. It  is  of  particular  advantage  to  have  pure- 
breds  well  grown  at  two  years  of  age,  because  well- 
grown  individuals  of  both  sexes  are  in  good  demand 
at  that  age. 

^^The  average  weight  of  the  lot  at  12  months  of 
age  was  1,112  pounds;  at  24  months  of  age,  1,548 
pounds.  The  average  weight  of  8  head  (the  two 
youngest  fillies  being  excluded)  at  corresponding 
ages   was   1,128   pounds    and    1,578   pounds.      The 


570 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCH ERON  HORSE 


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SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  571 

growtliiest  filly  of  the  lot  weighed  1,260  pounds  at 
12  months  of  age  and  1,775  pounds  at  24  months. 
"The  three  sets  of  prices  used  in  obtaining  the 
feed  costs  of  growing  these  fillies  during  the  time 
of  the  experiment  were  as  follows:  $86.88,  when 
afalfa  was  $16  per  ton;  corn,  56  cents  per  bushel; 
oats,  40  cents  per  bushel;  pasture,  $2  per  calendar 
month  per  head.  $105.50,  when  alfalfa  was  $14  per 
ton;  corn,  65  cents  per  bushel;  oats,  40  cents  per 
bushel;  pasture,  $1.50  per  28  days  per  head.  $108.49, 
when  alfalfa  was  $11  per  ton;  corn,  50  cents  per 
bushel;  oats,  35  cents  per  bushel;  pasture,  $10  per 
acre,  for  8  acres.  ^' 

Buying,  Feeding,  and  Selling  Draft  Geldings. — 
Mr.  Mat  Biers  is  known  throughout  the  entire  United 
States  as  one  of  the  most  successful  buyers  and 
feeders  of  the  draft  gelding.  His  long  and  success- 
ful experience  renders  the  following  statement  par- 
ticularly valuable.    He  says: 

"I  was  born  and  brought  up  on  a  farm  in  north- 
central  Illinois  and  began  buying  draft  geldings 
22  years  ago.  For  2  years  I  worked  for  a  man 
named  Peterson,  who  bought  and  fed  good  draft 
horses.  I  began  to  admire  good  horses  while  work- 
ing with  Peterson,  and  during  the  time  when  I  was 
feeding  cattle  and  horses  for  him  I  occasionally 
bought  a  good  gelding,  took  it  home  and  fed  it  out. 
Peterson  bought  nothing  but  good  grade  draft 
horses,  the  bigger  the  better. 

"Shortly  after  I  got  married  I  began  to  trade  in 
draft  horses  and  bought  very  good  thin  geldings. 
These  I  fed  out  and  sold.  After  about  three  years 
I  formed  a  partnership  with  Peterson  and  we 
began  to  buy  draft  horses  for  Rosenberg.  Horses 
were    extremely    cheap    then    and    we    were    buy- 


572  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

ing  on  a  commission  of  $5  per  head.  After  we 
had  followed  this  plan  for  some  time,  we  quit  and 
began  to  ship  and  feed  for  ourselves.  We  usually 
shipped  about  3  loads  per  week.  This  was  some 
15  years  ago,  and  I  have  been  located  in  Mendota, 
111.,  for  the  last  19  years.     In  more  recent  years 

1  have  been  operating  alone. 

''The  first  and  most  important  consideration  in 
feeding  draft  geldings  is  to  buy  the  right  kind  at 
a  price  that  will  permit  a  profit.  A  horse  well 
bought  is  well  sold.  It  is  unwise  to  buy  a  horse  that 
is  too  low  in  condition,  it  requires  too  much  time 
to  get  him  in  shape.  I  prefer  to  select  only  those 
horses  which  can  be  sold  at  any  time  after  purchase 
at  a  fair  profit.  I  aim  not  to  buy  horses  that  will 
not  finish  out  satisfactorily  within  60  days,  as  I 
do  not  believe  it  pays  a  dealer  to  feed  longer  than 

2  months.  Horses  that  have  to  be  fed  3  or  4  months 
to  get  them  in  shape  for  market  cost  too  much  in 
the  way  of  feed. 

' '  The  second  important  point  in  making  purchases 
of  draft  geldings  is  to  buy  them  at  the  right  time. 
The  demand  for  drafters  is  a  seasonable  one.  They 
will  not  sell  to  good  advantage  except  during  the 
late  spring  and  early  summer  months  and  again  in 
the  early  fall  months.  I  like  to  have  my  heavy  geld- 
ings ready  to  sell  during  the  latter  part  of  April  or 
early  in  May,  or  if  I  do  not  wish  to  market  them 
at  this  time  I  want  geldings  that  I  can  turn  off 
late  in  August  or  early  in  September.  There  is 
a  relatively  light  demand  for  the  very  heavy  draft 
geldings  at  other  times  of  the  year,  and  many  men 
lose  money  on  the  draft  geldings  they  purchase  on 
account  of  buying  them  at  the  wrong  time  of  the 
year.  They  are  then  compelled  to  sell  them  when 
draft  geldings  are  not  in  strong  demand,  or  if  they 


PINK  BRILLIAXTE    57897 CHAMPIOX    MARE   CHICAGO   IXTERXATIOXAL,    1916. 


HYSOPE    89487  (74401)  chami'ion  MARE  international  exposition,  1912. 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  573 

do  not  sell  them,  they  are  obliged  to  carry  them 
so  long  that  the  profit  is  taken  up  in  extra  feed 
bills. 

"Farm  chunks  weighing  from  1,200  to  1,500 
pounds  sell  to  the  best  advantage  during  the  months 
of  December,  January,  and  February,  and  there 
is  no  market  of  any  consequence  for  horses  of  any 
kind  during  June.  This,  of  course,  has  not  been 
true  during  the  last  two  years,  as  the  war  demand 
has  been  heaviest  during  the  summer,  but  I  am 
speaking  of  the  general  commercial  demand. 

"In  selecting  heavy  draft  horses  for  feeding,  I 
aim  to  buy  about  60  days  before  I  want  to  place 
the  horses  on  the  market.  I  look  for  a  big  horse, 
preferably  one  standing  from  16.2  to  18  hands  high. 
Of  course,  anything  from  16.1  up  can  be  made  into 
a  big  horse,  if  he  has  the  right  proportions  and  is 
given  the  feed  necessary  to  finish  him  out.  Eighteen 
hands  is  too  high,  unless  the  horse  is  well  propor- 
tioned. A  good  draft  gelding  should  have  depth  of 
chest  equal  to  one-half  his  height,  and  have  the 
spread  of  rib,  depth  of  flank  and  other  parts  in 
proportion.  In  buying  horses  for  the  heavy  gelding 
trade,  they  should  weigh  from  1,600  to  1,650  pounds 
to  start  with,  and  have  the  height  mentioned.  They 
can  be  fed  out  to  1,900  or  2,000  pounds. 

' '  My  ideal  horse  to  put  on  feed  is  one  that  stands 
around  17  hands  high  and  is  well  proportioned, 
weighing  about  1,650  pounds  in  moderate  condition. 
Such  a  horse  on  feed  60  days  will  increase  at  least 
an  inch  in  height  on  account  of  the  fact  that  the 
flesh  fills  up  over  the  withers  and  the  feet  grow 
out  longer.  I  want  a  horse  that  has  a  good  big 
head,  clean-cut  and  wide  between  the  eyes,  with 
well-set  ears  and  reasonably  long  neck,  clean-cut  in 
the  throttle,  with  fairly  sloping  shoulders  and  a  full 


574  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

breast.  I  want  my  horse  to  be  heavy  through  the 
shoulders,  deep  through  tlie  heart,  with  a  short 
back,  well-sprung  rib,  and  good  length  of  rib,  so 
as  to  give  a  deep  middle.  One  should  always  buy 
a  horse  with  a  big  chest  and  should  never  select 
one  that  is  not  short-coupled  and  heavily  muscled 
over  the  loin ;  he  should  be  wide  and  heavily  muscled 
over  the  croup,  thighs,  and  in  the  haunches,  and 
should  be  massively  muscled  in  the  stifles.  I  prefer 
to  have  the  croup  slightly  drooping  rather  than  too 
straight ;  horses  that  are  very  straight  in  their  croup 
are  inclined  to  be  narrow  through  the  stifle  and 
thighs.  The  underpinning  receives  close  attention, 
as  I  want  my  horses  to  stand  squarely  on  their  legs 
from  front,  side  and  rear.  The  pasterns  should  not 
be  too  straight,  nor  do  I  want  a  horse  that  is  down 
too  much  on  his  pasterns;  a  medium  slope  is  desired. 

''The  feet  should  be  of  good  size  and  medium  in 
height.  Of  the  high-walled  foot  and  the  low-walled 
foot  I  prefer  the  high-walled  foot,  although  I  like 
to  have  a  happy  medium  between  the  two.  The 
foot  that  is  low-walled  is  apt  to  be  flat  and  wide- 
spread at  the  heels,  and  such  feet  go  to  pieces  al- 
together too  rapidly  in  city  service. 

''A  sickle  hock  or  a  curby-formed  hock  is  ex- 
tremely undesirable  and  should  be  avoided  under  all 
circumstances,  particularly  in  heavy  geldings,  be- 
cause the  heavy  pulling  that  must  be  done  is  sure 
to  make  such  hocks  curby.  The  hock  should  be 
wide  and  clean-cut.  I  like  to  have  geldings  that 
will  measure  about  13%  inches  of  bone  below  the 
hock.  They  should  have  heavy  bone,  with  the  ten- 
dons standing  well  back  in  the  forelegs.  A  little 
hair  on  the  legs  is  not  objected  to,  but  very  much 
feather  is  to  be  avoided.  A  little  filling  in  the  hocks 
does  not  cut  the  price  of  a  big  gelding  to  any 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  575 

extent,  but  large  puffs  or  any  indication  of  a  bog 
spavin  must  be  avoided. 

"A  horse  should  have  a  good,  big  eye,  preferably 
brown  in  color,  and  should  be  wide  between  the 
eyes.  The  eye  orbits  should  be  prominent,  so  that 
the  eye  sets  well  out  on  the  side  of  the  head.  The 
small,  hog  eye  always  is  to  be  avoided;  that  kind 
of  an  eye  indicates  a  bad  disposition  and  never 
lasts  so  well  as  a  big,  open  eye. 

'^  Under  no  circumstances  would  I  buy  a  horse 
with  a  small  sheath;  such  a  one  is  usually  light 
in  the  middle  and  a  poor  feeder.  Occasionally  one 
will  get  hold  of  a  horse  with  apparently  ideal  con- 
formation for  feeding  that  has  a  small  sheath. 
While  I  cannot  explain  just  why  such  horses  are 
poor  feeders,  I  have  always  found  that  they  are 
poor  doers.  I  always  pay  close  attention  to  the 
sheath  in  purchasing  thin  geldings  for  feeding  pur- 
poses. 

^' There  are  more  good  feeders  among  the  grade 
Percherons  and  Belgians  than  among  those  of  other 
breeding.  I  prefer  geldings  sired  by  Percheron  and 
Belgian  sires.  It  is  difficult  to  describe  the  kind 
of  thin  horse  that  will  grow  out  into  a  big  horse  of 
the  right  kind,  but  above  all,  he  must  have  height, 
heavy  bone,  and  the  proper  proportions  in  frame 
work.  If  he  does  not  have  these,  no  amount  of 
feed  will  ever  make  the  right  kind  of  a  horse  out 
of  him. 

' '  After  buying  the  right  kind  of  horses,  I  make  it  a 
rule  to  have  them  vaccinated  as  soon  as  they  are 
brought  in  to  town.  They  are  treated  with  a  hy- 
podermic injection  of  any  of  the  good  poly^^alent 
bacterins  before  they  are  put  into  any  liver^^  stable 
or  allowed  to  stand  around  a  stockpen.  I  have 
found  that  if  one  can  vaccinate  horses  before  tliey 


576  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 

are  exposed  to  shipping  fever  he  will  have  very 
little  trouble.  In  addition  to  this,  I  make  it  a  rule 
to  keep  a  shipping  fever  medicine  on  hand,  and  if 
the  geldings  show  any  symptoms  of  fever,  I  can  nsu- 
ally  break  it  within  24  hours  by  using  this  medicine. 
I  tind  that  vaccination  is  a  great  help  where  I  have 
to  bring  horses  in  from  all  parts  of  the  country 
and  put  them  in  the  same  barn  for  feeding.  I  do 
not  physic  a  horse  when  it  is  starting  on  feed,  un- 
less it  appears  unhealthy,  in  which  case  I  usually 
give  a  physic  ball  once  or  twice  at  the  beginning 
of  the  feeding  period. 

*'As  soon  as  I  start  the  horses  on  feed,  I  tie  them 
up  in  single  stalls  just  wide  enough  so  that  they 
may  lie  down  comfortably.  I  tie  my  horses  in  the 
stalls  and  never  take  them  out  from  the  time  I  put 
them  in  until  they  are  ready  to  market.  We  even 
carry  the  water  to  them.  A  thin  horse  that  has  been 
working  steadily  will  begin  swelling  in  the  legs, 
after  being  tied  up  in  these  single  stalls  and  put 
on  heavy  feed.  In  fact  the  legs  swell  up  until  a 
man  who  did  not  know  would  think  that  the  horses 
were  utterly  ruined.  This  swelling  starts  a  short 
time  after  the  horses  are  tied  in,  but  will  come  down 
within  2  or  3  weeks;  no  one  should  be  disturbed 
over  this  temporary  swelling  that  occurs  during  the 
feeding  period. 

''Long  experience  has  convinced  me  that  horses 
will  fatten  a  great  deal  more  quickly  when  tied  in 
single  stalls  than  when  loose  in  box  stalls  or  running 
out  in  yards  or  sheds.  I  have  paid  enough  for  my 
experience  to  satisfy  me  that  there  is  no  other 
method  of  feeding  horses  which  is  so  economical 
and  so  conducive  to  quick  results  as  keeping  them 
tied  in  single  stalls  and  never  moving  them  out 
from  the  time  they  are  started  on  feed.    Not  even 


'^J 


KEOTA  IMSIGHT  107242.  RESERVE   CHAMPIOJN    STALUON  BRED  BY  EXHIBITOR. 

IOWA    STATE   FAIR,    1916. 


FAIR    HOPE    117379,    A-MEKICAN-BRED    RESERVE    JUIS'lOR    CHAMllON    STALLIO'N, 
CHICAGO    INTERI^ATIONAL.    1916;    SOLD    FOR    $5,000. 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  577 

should  they  be  taken  out  to  lead  or  show;  moving 
them  even  100  yards  when  they  are  on  this  heavy 
feed  is  apt  to  induce  azoturia. 

"First  and  foremost,  one  must  see  to  it  that  the 
horses  are  allowed  plenty  of  salt,  all  the  good  fresh 
water  they  can  possibly  use,  and  an  abundance  of 
good  hay.  I  always  water  my  horses  before  feed- 
ing. They  should  never  be  watered  immediately 
after  being  fed.  Our  experience  has  been  that  tha 
water  has  a  tendency  to  carry  the  feed  through 
before  it  is  thoroughly  digested. 

"I  prefer  to  feed  five  times  a  day,  beginning  at 
6  o'clock  in  the  morning,  feeding  again  at  10  o'clock, 
2  o'clock,  6  o'clock,  and  9  o'clock  at  night.  They 
should  be  fed  at  the  same  time  every  day.  I  con- 
sider regularity  in  the  feeding  of  the  geldings  al- 
most as  important  as  any  other  one  thing.  If  they 
are  fed  promptly,  they  will  not  fret  and  will  do  much 
better  than  if  any  irregularity  in  their  hours  of 
feeding  is  allowed. 

"I  like  to  keep  salt  before  my  geldings  at  all 
times,  to  give  them  all  the  fresh  water  they  can  use, 
and  to  feed  all  the  hay  that  they  will  clean  up.  I 
make  it  a  rule  to  allow  them  all  the  grain  that  they 
will  clean  up  within  25  or  30  minutes.  One  should 
not  feed  horses  so  much  as  to  cause  them  to  be 
indifferent  to  the  feed  when  it  is  placed  before  them 
the  next  time.  On  the  other  hand,  I  aim  to  feed 
just  up  to  the  limit,  so  that  the  horse  is  always 
anxious  for  his  feed  at  the  next  feeding  period  and 
yet  is  receiving  about  all  that  he  will  clean  up.  I 
prefer  to  feed  ear  corn,  and  with  this  I  give  bran 
and  oats,  preferably  crushed  oats  and  dry  bran. 
I  feed  this  in  about  equal  proportions  by  measure. 
I  have,  however,  had  good  results  by  feeding  corn 
and  oats  in  equal  parts,  and  then  giving  the  Ii^^rse 


578  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

a  bran  masli  twice  a  week  at  the  evening  feed.  I 
use  a  little  molasses  in  the  wintertime,  it  hastens 
the  gains  on  the  horses  by  increasing  their  ap- 
petites and  it  also  adds  bloom  to  a  horse's  coat  of 
hair.  It  should  be  thinned  with  hot  water,  and 
then  sprinkled  over  the  grain  feed  and  over  the 
hay.  Never  feed  molasses  in  the  summertime,  how- 
ever, as  it  only  attracts  the  flies,  and  one  cannot 
keep  the  feedboxes  clean  when  using  molasses. 

* '  So  far  as  hay  is  concerned,  I  prefer  bright  clover 
hay,  but  clover  and  timothy  mixed  make  excellent 
feed.  I  do  not  like  alfalfa  for  fattening  geldings. 
While  the  first  and  second  cuttings  of  alfalfa,  if 
properly  cured,  make  very  good  horse  feed,  one  can 
never  be  sure  whether  he  is  obtaining  the  earlier 
cuttings  or  the  later  cuttings.  The  last  cuttings 
are  always  too  soft  and  cause  too  much  work  for  the 
kidneys,  and  my  observation  has  been  that  one 
is  apt  to  have  more  trouble  with  the  hocks  filling 
up  when  alfalfa  is  used  than  when  the  other  hays 
are  fed.  Besides  this,  I  have  found  that  my  horses 
do  not  ship  so  well  when  fed  alfalfa  hay  as  when  I 
have  used  the  bright  clover  or  the  clover  and  timothy 
mixed.  Do  not  use  straight  timothy,  however;  this 
will  bankrupt  any  man  who  undertakes  to  do  it. 
I  never  use  timothy  alone,  even  in  preparing  horses 
for  shipment  or  in  shipping  them,  as  it  causes 
them  to  appear  light  in  the  middle  and  cut  up  in 
the  hind  flank. 

*' During  the  late  summer  and  early  fall  I  feed  some 
green  corn,  but  it  should  be  fed  sparingly,  as  it  is 
too  soft  as  a  rule  to  feed  to  horses  that  have  not  been 
on  grain  very  long.  Green  com  is  a  excellent  feed, 
however,  on  which  to  start  thin  horses;  it  tones  up 
the  system  and  gets  them  in  good  condition  to  start 
fattening.    I  have  fed  some  silage  and  find  it  very 


SELECTION^   CARE  AND  MANAGEMENT  579 

satisfactory,  providing  it  lias  been  put  in  wlien 
the  corn  is  fairly  well  hardened  and  is  good  and 
clean-smelling,  without  the  acid  condition  that  is 
too  often  found  in  silage  from  corn  that  is  not 
suffciently  matured.  Extreme  care  must  be  exer- 
cised, not  to  give  any  silage  that  contains  the  least 
evidence  of  mold;  moldy  silage  will  kill  horses  as 
quickly  as  any  feed  I  know  of. 

^'Be  careful  about  using  shredded  fodder.  If  it 
could  be  shredded  before  being  rained  on  and  after  it 
had  become  thoroughly  cured,  it  would  be  excellent 
feed,  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to  get  shredded  fod- 
der in  that  condition.  I  have  found  it  very  difficult  to 
avoid  colic  when  shredded  fodder  is  fed. 

^'I  like  to  feed  a  tablespoonful  of  ashes  made 
from  ash  or  hickory  wood  twice  a  week,  mixing 
it  in  with  the  ordinar\^  feeds,  but  I  do  not  feed  any 
stockfoods  or  patent  medicine  tonics.  I  am  afraid 
of  them  and  do  not  believe  there  is  any  advantage 
in  using  them.  If  a  man  has  bright  clover  hay  and 
gives  plenty  of  salt  and  water,  his  horses  will  keep 
in  healthy  condition  and  will  not  need  tonics  or 
salts  to  keep  them  from  becoming  unduly  consti- 
pated. 

^'So  far  as  the  amount  of  feed  to  be  given  is 
concerned  ,  no  hard  and  fast  rules  can  be  laid  down. 
This  is  a  matter  that  must  rest  in  the  discretion 
of  the  feeder,  and  the  aim  should  be  to  give  the 
horses  all  the  feed  that  they  can  stand  without 
overdoing  it  so  as  to  cause  them  to  lose  their  ap- 
petites. Some  horses  will  consume  a  great  deal  more 
feed  than  others  and  will  make  much  more  rapid 
gains.  I  have  had  horses  that  have  gained  as  much 
as  150  pounds  in  a  month,  but  that  is  very  unusual 
and  ordinarily  we  figure  on  a  gain  of  about  3  pounds 
a  day  on  geldings  being  fed  for  the  market. 


580  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

''There  are  some  incidentals  tliat  contribute  to 
success  in  feeding  operations.  Horses  should  be  fed 
on  dirt  floors,  if  possible.  When  a  barn  is  well 
drained  and  good  dirt  floors  have  been  properly 
built  in  the  stalls,  no  better  foundation  can  be  ob- 
tained. The  stalls  should  be  kept  carefully  cleaned 
out,  occasionally  disinfected,  and  well  bedded,  so 
that  the  horses  will  feel  disposed  to  lie  down  and 
rest  freg[uently  and  for  considerable  periods. 

'^We  do  jiot  blanket  our  draft  horses  in  the 
winter,  unless  we  are  preparing  them  for  some  spe- 
cial sale  and  want  to  get  a  little  extra  bloom  on 
their  coats.  In  the  summer  we  darken  the  stable, 
have  screen  doors,  and  also  use  large  fly  traps  so 
as  to  keep  the  flies  out  of  the  barn  as  completely 
as  possible. 

"I  prefer  open  mangers,  and  would  emphasize 
the  fact  that  it  is  very  necessary  to  keep  mangers 
and  feedboxes  scrupulously  clean.  When  our  horses 
are  ready  for  shipment,  we  reduce  the  amount  of 
grain  for  the  last  3  days  before  shipping  and  do 
not  feed  any  grain  at  all  on  the  day  we  ship,  depend- 
ing simply  on  hay  and  water. 

^'I  prefer  to  sell  my  horses  at  my  own  barns  and 
have  always  found  it  best  to  get  the  big  eastern 
buyers  to  come  direct  to  my  place  whenever  I  have 
a  carload  of  good  horses  for  sale.  During  the  last 
year  it  has  been  decidedly  injudicious  to  ship  geld- 
ings to  the  large  commercial  markets.  The  tremen- 
dous trade  in  war  horses  and  the  large  amount  of 
shipping  back  and  forth  horses  that  did  not  pass 
inspection  has  spread  influenza  and  shipping  fever. 
If  the  geldings  are  taken  directly  from  the  barns 
where  they  are  fed  to  the  point  where  they  are  to  go 
to  work  they  are  likely  to  get  through  in  healthy 
condition  and  without  any  trouble  of  any  kind. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND  MANAGEMENT  581 

'^So  far  as  the  trade  is  concerned,  tlie  cMef  de- 
mand for  good,  big  horses  comes  from  the  eastern 
states.  The  big  packing  companies  of  Chicago  are 
about  the  only  ones  that  will  take  first-class  geldings, 
as  most  of  the  Chicago  trade  is  for  a  rather  common 
class  of  big  horses  which  can  be  bought  more 
cheaply.  The  packing  companies  will  not  take  a 
horse  that  is  in  the  least  degree  unsound,  but  a 
small  sidebone  will  pass  the  eastern  buyers  ^\dthout 
much  objection,  and  some  of  the  eastern  buyers  will 
take  a  horse  with  a  hock  that  is  a  trifle  coarse, 
providing  he  does  not  go  lame  on  it.  We  do  not 
find  many  horses  that  are  wrong  in  the  wind,  but  can 
sell  a  horse  on  the  eastern  market  that  is  a  little 
off  there  if  he  will  take  a  big  load  and  walk  along 
at  a  reasonable  gait  and  make  no  noise  about  it.  But 
if  he  does  make  a  fuss,  a  $300  horse  would  bring  not 
more  than  $150. 

' '  Geldings  on  feed  will  make  much  more  satisfac- 
tory progress  if  they  are  well  curried  every  day,  as 
this  loosens  up  their  skins,  cleans  out  the  scurf  and 
makes  them  feel  better.  A  stiff  brush  should  be 
used,  with  plenty  of  elbow  grease  put  behind  it. 

''Never  tr}^  to  feed  horses  where  there  are  chick- 
ens, because  with  chickens  there  will  be  lice  and 
they  will  get  on  the  horse  in  spite  of  everything 
one  can  do.  If  you  buy  a  horse  that  has  lice,  use 
kerosene  and  lard,  half  and  half;  kill  the  lice  just 
as  quickly  as  possible. 

''Close  attention  should  be  given  to  the  feet  of 
the  horses  that  are  on  feed,  particularly  in  the 
smnmer,  when  the  atmosphere  is  hot  and  dr^^  I 
prefer  to  pack  my  horses^  feet  in  packing  clay,  but 
the  ordinary  kind  of  blue  clay  will  serve  the  pur- 
pose. Make  a  good  paste  and  plaster  it  over  the 
horse's  feet  on  the  frogs.     It  is  well  to  use  some 


582  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 

good  lioof  ointment.  Eub  it  into  the  hoofs  and  the 
coronets,  as  this  tends  to  stimnlate  the  growth  of 
the  hoof  and  helps  to  keep  it  in  good  condition. 

^'Care  should  be  taken  to  give  the  horses  plenty 
of  fresh  air.  The  barns  or  sheds  should  be  well 
ventilated.  The  barns  must  be  kept  clean  and  well 
disinfected  so  that  the  stalls  will  not  betray  stable 
odors.  Above  all  things  get  the  horse  to  lie  down 
as  much  as  possible.  Keep  his  stall  in  such  shape 
and  so  well  bedded  that  he  will  be  encouraged  to 
lie  down  and  rest.  Good  rye  straw  is  the  best  kind 
of  bedding,  and  good  wheat  straw  comes  next. 

^ '  Good,  big,  draft  geldings,  well  proportioned  and 
sound,  will  always  bring  a  good  price  if  properly 
fitted.  Any  farmer  who  has  good  com  and  oats 
and  first-class  clover  hay  can  well  aiford  to  feed 
out  the  surplus  geldings  which  he  has  for  sale,  as 
it  will  add  much  more  to  their  value  than  the  cost 
of  feeding  amounts  to.  In  buying  geldings  for 
feeding  purposes,  however,  one  must  have  at  least 
a  $50  spread  between  purchase  price  and  the  price 
he  expects  to  get  when  they  are  sold  in  order  to  be 
at  all  safe,  and  I  prefer  to  have  a  little  more  than 
this  where  possible.  Whenever  I  buy  a  thin  gelding 
for  feeding  purposes,  I  have  a  mental  picture  of  the 
kind  of  gelding  he  will  look  like  when  he  is  finished. 
I  usually  try  to  have  in  mind  the  buyer  who  will 
want  just  that  kind  of  gelding,  so  that  in  my  buy- 
ing and  feeding  operations  I  am  selecting  horses  for 
certain  specific  purposes  and  certain  particular  buy- 
ers. No  farmer  should  undertake  to  buy  geldings 
for  feeding  purposes  until  he  has  had  some  exper- 
ience in  finishing  out  his  own  surplus  horses,  or 
has  acquired  some  familiarity  with  the  task  by  feed- 
ing out  small  bunches,  say  2  or  4  horses.  Experience 
is  a  most  valuable  asset." 


SELECTION,   CARE  AND   MANAGEMENT  583 

Permanent  Marks  For  Percherons. — Tlie  success- 
ful manageinent  of  Percherons  requires  a  nietliod  of 
positive  identification  of  the  individual  animals. 
Satisfactory  results  can  best  be  attained  by  perma- 
nent marks.  On  this  subject  we  quote  from  the  fol- 
lowing authorities: 

W.  S.  Corsa  says: 

^'I  am  con^dnced  after  years  of  trial  of  other  sys- 
tems that  the  only  satisfactory  solution  is  in  brand- 
ing the  horses  with  plain  figures  on  the  neck.  Prop- 
erly branded,  no  scar  results  and  the  animals  are 
identified  for  life.  I  have  within  the  past  year 
adopted  this  plan  with  all  my  horses,  and  I  am 
gratified  with  the  resulting  ease  and  certainty  of 
keeping  my  records.  Hereafter  I  shall  include  the 
brand  for  each  individual  as  a  part  of  the  descrip- 
tion in  the  pedigree.  By  this  system  all  doubt  is 
removed,  and  in  case  of  my  death  any  administrator 
can  go  in  and  handle  my  stud  of  Percherons  with 
the  same  certainty  regarding  each  individual  that 
I  have  myself.  It  also  removes  the  possibility  of 
error  on  the  part  of  grooms  in  keeping  service  and 
foaling  records." 

Lambert  Keffeler,  with  more  than  60  Percherons, 
states : 

^'I  would  not  think  of  being  without  brands  on 
my  Percherons.  Each  animal  has  its  own  number, 
which  is  embodied  in  the  pedigree.  Errors  are  made 
impossible." 

U.  L.  Burdick  says: 

^^I  consider  a  set  of  branding  irons  indispensable. 
It  is  a  guarantee  that  the  breeder's  records  are  prop- 
erly kept  and  that  each  animal  is  absolutely  true  to 
pedigree." 


584  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

George  Lane,  owner  of  the  largest  stud  of  Perch- 
erons  in  the  world,  says: 

*' Branding  Perch erons  in  plain  figures,  so  that 
each  animal  has  its  own  distinguishing  number,  is 
essential  to  any  man  who  undertakes  systematic 
Percheron  breeding.  It  is  the  best  possible  evidence 
that  the  breeder  is  careful  in  his  operations  and  that 
the  animal  is  bred  as  represented.  For  the  benefit 
of  those  not  familiar  with  details  of  the  work,  I 
am  pleased  to  give  the  following  instructions: 

"The  branding  irons  must  be  of  copper.  The 
sample  set  shown  in  the  illustration  is  correct  in  all 
respects.  The  colts  to  be  branded  should  be  blind- 
folded and  the  hair  be  clipped  from  the  neck  where 
the  brand  is  to  be  applied.  If  the  skin  seems  dirty, 
it  should  be  washed  clean  and  allowed  to  dry 
thoroughly  before  the  brand  is  applied.  This  will 
result  in  a  clear,  plain  brand.  If  you  are  in  doubt 
about  being  able  to  apply  the  brand  in  the  correct 
position,  take  a  piece  of  chalk  and  lightly  mark  the 
figures  on  the  neck,  then  apply  the  brand  on  the 
figure  outlined.  This  will  insure  getting  the  brand 
on  straight.  The  hair  must  be  clipped  to  permit  of 
clean,  quick  branding.  Blindfold  the  colt  and  stand 
him  beside  a  fence  or  gate,  so  that  he  cannot  crowd 
away.  The  iron  should  be  heated  in  a  small  char- 
coal burner,  or  in  any  other  small,  clean  fire.  Keep 
a  coarse  brush  at  hand,  so  that  the  face  of  the  brand- 
ing iron  can  be  brushed  otf  before  applying  it.  This 
is  done  to  make  certain  that  there  are  no  specks  of 
dirt  or  cinders  adhering  to  the  face  of  the  brand 
when  it  is  applied.  The  presence  of  any  such  par- 
ticle blurs  the  brand  and  spoils  the  results.  The 
copper  head  should  not  be  heated  red  hot,  but  should 
be  just  turning  from  a  bluish  tinge  to  a  faint  red 
when  removed  from  the  fire.    It  should  be  allowed 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  585 

to  cool  for  at  least  a  minute  after  this,  and  will  still 
be  hot  enough  for  use.  Experienced  branders  do  not 
heat  their  irons  even  this  hot.  They  heat  them 
until  there  is  a  bluish  tinge  running  over  the  face 
of  the  branding  instrument,  but  beginners  will  have 
to  work  as  indicated.  At  the  beginning  it  is  best 
to  test  the  irons  on  some  grade  horses  until  you 
have  determined  the  proper  heat  and  time.  The 
numbers  are  IV^  inches  high  and  the  burning  face 
is  barely  %  of  an  inch.  The  copper  branding  instru- 
ments must  be  carefully  handled;  for  when  hot  they 
are  very  soft.  If  thrown  down  carelessly,  or  struck 
against  one  another,  they  will  be  bent  out  of  shape 
and  ruined. 

''Step  up  beside  the  colt,  and  if  you  are  a  short 
man  step  on  a  box,  so  that  you  will  be  up  on  a  level 
with  the  neck.  Then  apply  the  brand  to  the  neck 
on  the  spot  desired  with  one  straight  movement, 
making  sure  that  all  of  the  branding  surface  of  the 
iron  comes  in  contact  with  the  neck.  If  this  is  not 
done,  one  part  of  the  brand  will  be  deep  while  the 
other  will  be  barely  touched.  It  is  sufficient  to  bring 
the  iron  against  the  neck  and  take  it  away.  A 
second  is  all  that  is  required.  If  the  hair  has  been 
clipped,  a  second's  touch  with  the  hot  brand  will 
burn  the  hair  roots  and  turn  the  skin  to  a  light-brown 
color.  Do  not  try  to  re-apply  the  brand;  if  you 
do  you  will  simply  blur  the  figure  and  spoil  the 
mark.  The  chief  danger  with  men  who  are  inexper- 
ienced in  branding  is  that  they  have  the  iron  too 
hot,  or  apply  it  too  long.  This  results  in  too  deep 
a  bum,  and  in  the  case  of  such  figures  as  8  or  0 
may  burn  out  the  entire  center  core,  leaving  a  blotch 
on  the  neck,  so  that  the  figure  is  indistinguishable. 
If  the  irons  are  hot,  as  directed,  a  single  straight 
application  for  a  second  is  sufficient  to  burn  the  hair 


586  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

roots  and  turn  the  skin  brown,  and  this  is  all  that  is 
needed.  The  operation  is  so  quickly  done  that  the 
colt  or  horse  will  not  wince  appreciably,  and  there  is 
no  difficulty  in  doing  the  work. 

^'Probably  the  most  satisfactory  plan  is  for  each 
man  to  select  some  letter  as  his  own,  and  then  brand 
from  1  to  1,000.  Thus  C  101  might  stand  for  Corsa 
101,  indicating  that  this  was  an  animal  bred  or 
owned  by  Mr.  Corsa  and  that  the  identification  was 
101.  The  breeders  who  adopt  this  system  can  num- 
ber 999  animals,  without  using  more  than  4  charac- 
ters, and  as  the  figures  are  small  the  animals  will 
not  be  disfigured.  Where  it  is  preferred,  the  brands 
may  be  applied  under  the  mane  and  will  not  be  at  all 
noticeable. 

^^I  formerly  used  hoof  brands,  but  since  adopting 
this  system  I  would  not  depend  on  the  other  under 
any  consideration.  With  my  present  arrangement 
I  am  absolutely  certain  at  all  times  as  to  the  identity 
of  any  animal  that  I  have.  I  might  die  and  my 
entire  force  might  be  swept  out  of  existence,  but 
au}^  stranger  could  step  in  and  take  the  records  and 
the  pedigrees  and  identify  every  Percheron  that  I 
own.  The  individual  neck  brand  is  carried  on  the 
pedigrees,  on  the  produce  cards,  and  in  my  record 
books.  It  is  also  carried  in  my  memorandum  book, 
so  that  I  can  at  any  time  distinguish  any  animal  in 
pasture,  barns  or  lots,  and  determine  in  a  second 
the  registered  name,  number  and  breeding. '' 

J.  P.  Gammon,  with  approximately  100  Perche- 
rons,  says: 

''Long  experience  has  satisfied  me  that  there  is 
no  system  for  identifying  Percherons  equal  to  the 
plan  of  branding  each  one  in  plain  figures,  so  that 
each  animal  has  its  individual  mark.     It  does  not 


AMORITA   61314,    CHAIMPION  MARE   AT  CHICAGO  INTERNATIONAL,    1909. 


HERMINE    102198    (76134).    CHAMPION    ]VIARE    AT   IOWA    STATE   FAIR.    1914. 


SELECTION,   CARE   AND   MANAGEMENT  587 

disfigure  the  animal,  but  is  on  the  contrary  a  mark 
of  merit,  as  it  is  evidence  as  to  tlie  identity  of  tlie 
breeder  and  the  care  used  in  his  breeding  opera- 
tions. 

^'Ahnost  all  the  states  have  statutes  governing 
brands,  providing  for  legal  records  of  same,  and  stip- 
ulating heavy  penalties,  usually  a  penitentiary  sen- 
tence, for  those  who  seek  to  deface  or  alter  brands. 
Illinois  has  such  statutes,  and  I  see  no  reason  why 
the  Percheron  Society  of  America  should  not  have 
regulations  providing  that  each  breeder  may  adopt 
and  have  registered  in  the  records  of  the  society 
some  specific  brand  which  shall  belong  to  him,  and 
which  shall  not  be  infringed  upon  by  any  other 
breeder.  John  Brown  might  adopt  the  maple  leaf 
as  his  symbol,  and  use  it,  with  numbers  following, 
to  identify  all  his  horses.  In  time  the  breeder  of 
good  horses  would  find  the  brand  to  be  a  valuable 
trademark,  advertising  him  as  the  breeder  w^ierever 
the  horses  might  be  used  or  shown.  The  careful, 
conscientious  breeder  has  everything  to  gain  by  the 
adoption  of  a  distinguishing  brand  to  mark  animals 
of  his  breeding.  This,  together  with  individual  num- 
bers for  each  Percheron,  will  make  errors  on  the 
part  of  grooms  impossible,  will  eliminate  doubt  or 
disputes  as  to  the  identity  of  animals,  and  will  give 
intending  purchasers  added  confidence  in  purchas- 
ing from  a  breeder  who  follows  the  system  of  brand- 
ing all  foals  at  weaning  time  in  such  manner  as  to 
give  each  individual  identification  numbers  which 
are  incorporated  in  the  certificates  of  pedigree  as  a 
part  of  the  description.  I  have  used  the  plan  for 
years,  know  it  to  be  successful,  and  would  not 
think  of  depending  on  any  other  system.  Every 
breeder,  for  his  own  protection  in  dealing  with 
employes  and  for  the  protection  of  his  estate  in 


588  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

case  of  his  death,  should  adopt  permanent  marks 
for  his  Percherons.  There  is  no  system  equal  to 
copper  branding  irons,  properly  used. ' ' 


CHAPTER  XV. 
BLOODLINES  IN  THE  SHOWRING. 

We  come  now  to  the  matter  of  an  examination 
of  the  blood  elements  most  largely  represented  in 
the  breeding  of  the  leading  prizewinners  of  recent 
years  at  the  two  most  important  shows  of  France 
and  the  United  States.  This  was  undertaken  not 
with  a  view  to  demonstrating  the  truth  or  falsity 
of  any  particular  proposition,  but  merely  as  the 
presentation  of  the  record  as  it  actually  exists.  A 
study  of  these  tabulations  and  summaries  should 
prove  of  interest  and  value  to  present-day  Percheron 
breeders. 

The  Breeding  of  Leading  Winners. — The  show- 
ring  is  to  Percherons  what  the  racetrack  has  been  to 
Thoroughbreds  and  Standardbreds.  It  is  the  fiery 
crucible  wherein  the  gold  is  separated  from  the 
alloy.  When  leading  shows  are  considered,  the  win- 
ners represent  the  highest  type  which  Percheron 
breeders  have  been  able  to  produce.  A  Percheron 
of  surpassing  excellence  in  type,  conformation  and 
quality  can  no  more  escape  the  showring  than  a 
race  horse  of  extraordinary  speed  can  escape  the 
racecourse,  because  hundreds  of  men  are  seeking  out 
the  most  excellent  animals  to  prove  their  merit  by 
open  competition  in  the  showring.     If  successful, 

589 


590  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

their  value  is  greatly  enhanced  and  their  opportu- 
nities in  the  stud  are  widened.  Sentiment  among 
breeders  is  so  strong,  alert  and  well  informed  that 
the  judging  at  the  leading  shows  is  in  the  long  run 
representative  of  the  best  thought  of  the  breeders  of 
the  period.  Analysis  of  the  showyard  records  and 
of  the  breeding  of  the  winners  is  of  great  interest 
to  all  intelligent,  thoughtful  breeders. 

An  exhaustive  study  of  the  winning  horses  at  the 
shows  held  in  the  Perche  under  the  direction  of  the 
Societe  Hippique  Percheronne  de  France  from  1901 
to  1910  inclusive  discloses  1,418  which  were  awarded 
prizes  in  the  individual  classes.  The  large  number 
is  due  to  the  French  system  of  awarding  several 
third  and  fourth  prizes  in  each  class.  Only  one  first 
prize  is  awarded,  but  two  second,  two  third,  six 
fourth,  seven  fifth,  and  fifteen  sixth  prizes,  so  called, 
have  sometimes  been  awarded.  This  is  a  scheme  to 
aid  sales,  and  wholly  unjustified. 

The  names  and  numbers  of  the  prizewinning 
horses  at  all  these  shows  were  tabulated,  and  op- 
posite each  was  placed  the  name  and  numbers  of 
the  sire,  grandsire  and  great-grandsire  in  the  pat- 
ernal line.  It  was  found  that  476  stallions  appeared 
but  once  each  in  the  10  years  as  great-grandsires  of 
winners.  These  were  therefore  eliminated  from 
consideration.  The  942  animals  remaining  trace  to 
only  80  difi^erent  great-grandsires,  some  of  which 
appeared  more  frequently  than  others.  The  num- 
ber of  times  each  great-grandsire  appeared  during 
the  10  years  is  shown  by  the  following  summary: 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE   SHOWRING 


591 


SUJVIMARY   NO.    2—1901    TO    1910    INCLUSIVE. 

RANK     OF     STALLIONS     ACCORDING    TO     THE     NUMBER     OF    TIMES     THAT    THEY 

APPEARED    AS    GREAT-GRANDSIRES    OF    PRIZEWINNERS 

DURING     THE     10     YEARS. 


1 — Brilliant  3d    (2919) 123 

2— Besigue    (19602)    92 

3 — Villers    (8081)    87 

4 — Fenelon   (38)    71 

5 — Voltaire   (443)    61 

6 — Jules    (37987)     50 

7 — Marathon    (10386)    38 

8— Briard    (1630)     30 

9 — Jupiter  4th  (13001) 19 

10 — Lavater    (14574)    18 

11 — Violoneux    (37412)    16 

12— Isolin    (27498)    16 

13 — Lavrat    (21169)    16 

14 — Lerida    (6780)    14 

15 — Paros    (14227)    14 

16— Cocardos    (35219)    13 

17 — Napolitain    (43046)     13 

18 — Boule-D'Or  (19129)    11 

19 — Sangrado   (22990)    10 

20 — Jean   Nivelle    (34195)....      9 

21 — Germanicus    (7825)    8 

22 — Archimede    (7222)    8 

23 — Bontor   (19590)    8 

24 — Blande     (36577)     8 

25 — Jemmapes    (51958)     8 

26 — Bambin    (41034)    8 

27 — Visconti   (20491)    7 

28 — Numero    (18789)    7 

29 — Champeaux  (2248)    6 

30— Sultan    (4713)     6 

31 — Buffalo    (34952)     6 

32 — Turco    (8506)    6 

33 — Fernando    (34038)     6 

34 — Florent   2d    (5950) 5 

35 — Picador    3d     (4815) 5 

36— Gilbert    (461)    4 

37 — La  Grange   (1334) 4 

38 — Pourquoi    Pas    (9989)....      4 

39 — Clisson   (41222)    4 

40 — ^Desonis    (40794)    4 


41- 
42- 
43- 
44- 
45- 
46- 
47- 
48- 
49- 
50- 
51- 
52- 
53- 
54- 
55- 
56- 
57- 
58- 
59- 
60- 
61- 
62- 
63- 
64- 
65- 
66- 
67- 
68- 
69- 
70- 
71- 
72- 
73- 
74- 
75- 
76- 


79- 
90- 


-Monid    (40349)     4 

-Othello  (42829)    4 

-Bien-Eveille     (2565) 4 

-Mouille    (35212)     4 

-Morse     (40383)     4 

-Brilliant    (755) 3 

-Kadoudja    (13245)    3 

-Bernard  (5501)    3 

-Phebus  (329)    3 

-Waterloo    (39313)     3 

-Rustique   (28646)    3 

-Lyceen   (42509)    3 

-Cherbourg    (43393)     3 

-Rodomont   (43006)    3 

-Rochefort   (14837)    2 

-Compteur    (7059)    2 

-Major    (626)    2 

-Fier-a-Bras    (13555)    2 

-Conquerand    (29963)    2 

-Sullv    (35491)     2 

-Donon    (37397)     2 

-Robespierre    (14737) 2 

-Paradox    (40254)     2 

-Picador   1st    (7330) 2 

-Bavard    (9495)     2 

-Norbert    (35763)    2 

-Bon  Espoir  (213) 2 

-Picador    2d     (5606) 2 

-Etretat    (41715)     2 

-Theudis   (40871)    2 

-Faust    (42551)    2 

-Cambronne    (40813)     2 

-Lerida   2d    (32234) 2 

-Louis    (42916)    2 

-Piron    (42617)    2 

-Jules    (42009)     2 

-Beaudole     (34055)     2 

-Matador    (43400)    2 

-Svlo   (43344)    2 

-Diogene    (22663)    2 


SYNOPSIS    OF   SUMMARY   NO.    2 

26  great-grandsires  appear  2  times 

9  great-grandsires  appear  3  times 

10  great-grandsires  appear  4  times 

2  great-grandsires  appear  5  times 

5  great-grandsires  appear  6  times 
2  great-grandsires  appear  7   times 

6  great-grandsires  appear  8  times 
1  great-grandsire  appears  9  times 
1  great-grandslre  appears  10  times 

1  great-grandsire  appears  11  times 

2  great-grandsires  appear  13   times 

2  great-grandsires  appear  14   times 

3  great-grandsires  appear  16  times 
1  great-grandsire  appears  18  times 
1   great-grandsire  appears  19  times 

8  great-grandsires  appear  more  than   20  times, 

ranging  from  30  to  123 


592  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

Of  the  80  great-grandsires  that  appeared  two 
times  or  more  at  any  one  show  during  the  10  years, 
46,  or  57  percent,  were  of  Brilliant  breeding. 

Of  the  1,418  animals  at  these  shows,  942  trace 
directly  to  these  80  great-grandsires  through  their 
sire's  line.  The  remaining  476  animals  are  unac- 
counted for ;  they  did  not  have  a  great-grandsire  that 
appeared  more  than  once  at  that  year's  show. 

Of  the  942,  724,  or  76.8  percent,  carry  Brilliant 
blood.  No  doubt  a  great  many  of  the  animals 
trace  to  Brilliant  blood  in  the  succeeding  genera- 
tions beyond  their  great-grandsires.  It  is  true  that 
a  great-grandsire  might  appear  once  at  each  sIioyv" 
during  the  entire  10  years  and  yet  not  receive  credit 
in  this  list. 

The  basis  of  this  tabulation  is  the  appearance  of 
a  great-grandsire  at  least  two  times  in  one  show. 

An  interesting  feature,  not  disclosed  by  this  sum- 
mary, but  shown  by  the  more  extended  figures,  is 
that  the  stallion  classes,  while  only  slightly  larger 
in  number,  carry  a  much  larger  percentage  of  the 
prominent  bloodlines  than  do  the  mare  classes. 

Of  the  8  stallions  that  ranked  highest  in  the  total 
of  80  common  progenitors,  all  are  of  Brilliant  breed- 
ing. To  these  particular  great-grandsires  stands  the 
credit  of  having  58  percent  of  the  total  number  of 
prizewinners  whose  great-grandsires  are  included  in 
this  list  of  common  progenitors. 

Brilliant  3d's*  right  to  premier  rank  as  a  sire  is 


*  The    sire    referred    to    throughout    the    text    as    Brilliant    3d    is 
Brilliant  III   11116    (2919). 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE   SHOWRING  593 

abundantly  proved  by  the  sliowyard  records.  He 
appears  as  the  great-grandsire  of  123  of  the  win- 
nerSy  and  his  son  Besigne  stands  second  with  92  to 
his  credit.  The  high  estimate  placed  on  Villers  is 
also  borne  out  by  his  appearance  in  third  place,  as 
the  great-grandsire  of  87  prizewinners.  Fenelon, 
sire  of  Brilliant  3d,  comes  fourth,  appearing  as  the 
great-grandsire  of  71  of  the  winners.  All  of  the 
first  8  horses  appearing  in  this  roll  of  honor  are 
sons,  grandsons,  or  great-grandsons  of  Brilliant 
1271  (755),  the  sire  that  joined  with  his  own  sire. 
Brilliant  1899  (756),  in  founding  the  Brilliant  strain, 
dominating  blood  in  the  Percheron  breed. 

The  most  noted  of  these  great  ancestors  did  not 
win  their  high  rank  by  heavy  winnings  of  their  de- 
scendants in  any  one  or  two  years.  On  the  contrary 
they  have  appeared  as  great-grandsires  of  winners 
year  after  year.  This  is  shown  by  the  following 
summary: 

SUMIVIART  NO.    3—1901   TO    1910   INCLUSrV'E 

RANK    OF    STALLIONS    ACCORDING    TO    NUMBER    OF    SHO'WS    AT    WHICH    THEY 

APPEARED    MORE    THAN    ONCE    AS    GREAT-GRANDSIRES 

OF    PRIZEWINNING    ANIMALS. 

1.  Brilliant  3d  (2919),  in  '01,  '02,  '03.  '04,  '05,  'OG,  '07,  '08,  '09,  '10.  .10 

2.  Villers   (8081),   in  '01,  '02,  '03,  '04,  '05,  'OG,  '07,  '08,   '09,  '10 10 

3.  Voltaire  (443),  in  '01,  '02,  '03,  '04,  '05,  '07,  '08,  '09,  '10 9 

4.  Marathon   (10386),  in  '01,  '02,  '03,  '04,  '05,  'OS,  '09,  '10 8 

5.  Fenelon    (38),   in  '01,  '02,   '03,  '04,   '05,   '06,  '07 7 

6.  Besigue   (19602),  in  '04,  '05,  '06,  '07,  '08,  '09,  '10 7 

7.  Lavater   (14574),  in  '01,  '02,  '03,  '07,  'OS 5 

8.  Lavrat  (21169),  in  '05,  '07,  '08,  '09,  '10 5 

9.  Cocardos   (35219),  in  '04,  '05,  '07,  '08,  '09 5 

10.  Briard   (1630),   in  '01,  '02,   '03,   '04 4 

11.  Lerida   (6780),  in  '05,  '07,  'OS,   '09 4 

12.  Jupiter  4th  (13001),  in  '04,  'OS,  '09,  '10 4 

13.  Boule  D'Or    (19129),   in   '04,   '06,   '07,   '10 4 

14.  Jules    (37987),   in  '07,   '08,   '09,    '10 4 


594  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

SUMjVIART  no.   3—1901  TO  1910  INCLUSIVE    (Continued). 

15.  Violoneux    (37412),   in  '07,  'OS,   '09,   '10 4 

16.  Champeaux   (2248),  in  '02,  '03,  '04 ,[  ,  3 

17.  Archimede   (7222),  in  '05,  '06,  '07 '.  3 

18.  Germanicus  (7825),  in  '05,  '06,  '07 3 

19.  Pourquois  Pas    (9989),   in  '05,  '06,   '10 3 

20.  Paros    (14227),  in  '02,  '03,   '04 .'  3 

21.  Numero  (1S789),  in  '04,  '05,  '10 3 

22.  Isolin    (27498),  in  '03,   '04,  '07 3 

23.  Blande    (36577),   in  '04,   '05,  '10 3 

24.  Jean  Nivelle   (34195),  in  '06,  '08,  '09 3 

25.  Gilbert    (461),   in  '01,  '03    2 

26.  La  Grange   (1334),  in  '01,  '03   2 

27.  Sultan    (4713),   in   '09,   '10 2 

28.  Picador    3d    (4815),    in    '01,    '02 2 

29.  Bontor    (19590),  in  '02,  '09 2 

30.  Visconti   (20491),  in  '03,  '04 2 

31.  Sangrado   (22990),  in  '09,  '10 2 

32.  Buffalo    (34952),  in  '06,  '07 2 

33.  Fernando  (34038),  in  '08,  '09 2 

34.  Jemmapes   (41958),  in  '07,  'OS 2 

35.  Clisson   (41222),  in  '08,  '09 2 

36.  Desouis     (40794),    '08,    '09 2 

37.  Bambin    (41034),   in  '09,   '10 2 

38.  Napolitain   (43046),  in  '09,  '10 2 

39.  Monid  (40349),   in  '09,  '10 2 

40.  Othello   (42829),  in  '09,  '10 2 

Breeding  of  Prizewinners  at  French  Shows. — 
For  the  benefit  of  stucients  of  animal  breeding,  the 
first-prize  winners  at  the  shows  heM  nnder  the  aus- 
pices of  the  Percheron  Society  of  France  from  1901 
to  1910,  inclusive,  were  selected  and  their  breeding 
traced  out  in  detail  to  the  eighth  generation,  or, 
where  the  breeding  did  not  extend  so  far,  to  its 
uttermost  limits.  There  were  three  stallions  and 
four  mare  classes  at  each  of  these  shows. 

The  detailed  breeding  of  the  seventy  animals  in 
question  was  submitted  to  Prof.  E.  N.  Wentworth, 
of  the  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  for  analysis  as 
to  the  percentages  of  blood  of  the  leading  strains 
represented,  the  total  shown  on  each  pedigree  being 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE   SHOWRINa 


595 


taken  as  100  percent.  This  is  not  absolutely  ac- 
curate, but  is  near  enough  for  all  practical  purposes. 
In  computing  the  proportion  of  blood  of  the  lead- 
ing sires,  duplications  were  avoided,  and  where,  as 
in  the  first  instance  given,  a  pedigree  is  said  to 
contain  12.5  percent  of  the  blood  of  Brilliant  1271 
(756)  and  18.75  percent  of  the  blood  of  Brilliant 
1899  (755),  we  mean  that  the  particular  animal 
involved  carries  18.75  percent  of  the  blood  of  Bril- 
liant 1899  (755)  through  other  lines  than  Brilliant 
1271  (756).  Where  Coco  2d  (714)  is  listed,  his 
blood  comes  down  through  other  strains  than  the 
Brilliant,  every  precaution  being  taken  to  avoid 
duplications  in  these  calculations.  The  figures  show 
the  percentage  of  the  blood  of  leading  sires  carried: 


TABLE    I.— WINNERS 

Class  1. — Stallions. 

CHAMBELLAN  27349    (46787). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1271    (756) 12.5 

Brilliant  1899    (755) 18.75 

Coco    2d    (714) 6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 7.8125 

Class    2. — Stallions. 

SCIPION   27123    (43667). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271  (756) ...  21.875 
Brilliant    1899     (755)...    6.25 

Coco    2d    (714) 3.125 

Favori    1st    (711) 1.5625 

Class    3. — Stallions. 

ORANGISTE     29606     (45088). 

Percent 
Brilliant    1899     (755)..    6.25 
Brilliant  1271    (756)...    3.125 
Favori   1st    (711) 3.90625 


AT    THE    1901    SHOW. 

Class  1. — Mares. 
EGLANTINE    30011    (480 

Brilliant    1271     (756).. 
Brilliant    1899     (755).. 

Coco    2d    (714) 

Favori   1st    (711) 

Class   2. — Mares. 
DOCILE    (35823). 


70). 
Percent 

20.3125 
9.375 
7.8125 
7.03125 


Percent 
Brilliant   1271    (756)  ...  12.05 

Class   3. — Mares. 

REINE    (48062). 

Percent 

Brilliant   1271    (756)  .  .  .12.5 

Brilliant   1899    (755)  .  .  .    9.375 

Coco    2d    (714) 7.03125 

French    Monarch     (734)    4.6875 

Favori  1st    (711) 3.5156 

Class  4. — Mares. 
TENEBREUSE    30013    (45615). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1899    (755) 12.5 

Favori   1st    (711) 7.8125 

Brilliant  1271    (756) 6.25 

Champeaux    (2248) 6.25 

Coco    2d    (714) 1.5625 


596 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCIIERON  HORSE 


TABLE  II. — WINNERS  AT  THE   1902   SHOW. 
Class    1. — Stallions.  Class  1. — Mares. 

PYRRHUS    29563    (44643).  EGLANTINE   30011    (48070). 

Percent  See  Table  I. 

Brilliant  1271    (756)..    3.6S75  2 -Mares 

Coco    2d    (714) 3.515625  ^^^^^   ^-      ^^^'^''^• 

Brilliant   1899    (755)..    3.125  DOCILE    (35823). 

Favori  1st    (711) 3.125  See   Table   L 

Class    2.-Stallions.  ^'^^^  3.-Mares. 

ORANGISTE   29606    (450S8).  TENEBREUSE    31501    (48069). 

Percent 

See  Table  L  Champeaux    (2248) 6.25 

Class    3. — Stallions.  Favori   1st    (711) 4.6875 

PAUL  29885    (47477).  C^O'^o    2d    (714) 1.5625 

Percent  Brilliant   1271    (756) 1.5625 

Brilliant  1271    (756) 15.625  Class  4 Mares 

l^^y'  t'lSQQ'.T^^r"*    6lf'        OMBRELIE    30010    (50329). 
Brilliant  1899    (755)....    6.^5 

Coco   2d    (714) 4.6875  champeaux    (2248) HT 

Brilliant  1271    (756) 4.6875 

Brilliant   1899    (755) 3.125 

Favori   1st    (711) 3.125 


TABLE  III. — THINNERS  AT  THE  1903  SHOW. 

Class    1. — Stallions.  Class  1. — Mares. 

TELEMAQUE    34104    (44762).  DOCILE    (35823). 

Percent  See  Table  I. 

Champeaux    (2248)  ..  .18.75  ^^^^^   2.— Mares. 

Favori  1st    (711) 13.671875  p,  <.^..  .  ^   .....    .47121) 

Brilliant  1271    (756)..    6.25  CASTILLE   34488    (4.121).^         ^ 

Brilliant  1899    (755)..    3.125  Brilliant   1899    (755)  .  .  .  .  IsT 

Coco    2d    (.14) 3.125  p^^^^   ^g^    (^^^^ ^^0g25 

Class    2.-Stallions.  Brilliant  1271    (756)....    9.375 

„       ,„„„„,  Coco    2d    (714) 7.8125 

UNIVERS    33977     (47622). 

Percent  Class   3. — Mares. 

Brilliant  1899    (755).. 18.75  FAISANT   41215    (46330). 

Brilliant   1271    (756)  ..  15.625  Percent 

Favori   1st    (711) 14.84375  Favori   1st    (711)...    6.25 

Coco    2d    (714) 390625  Brilliant   1899    (755)    6.25 

Coco    2d    (714) 5. 46875 

Class    3.— Stallions.  Brilliant   1271    (756)    3.125 

CASCADEUR  33977    (53120).  French  Monarch  (734)   .73415625 

Coco    2d    (714) 11.71875  Class  4.— Mares. 

Brilliant  1271    (756)..    6.25  ERMANTRUDE    41203     (51827). 

Brilliant  1899    (755)..    6.25  Percent 

Favori   1st    (711) 5.859375  Brilliant   1271    (756)..    4.6875 

French  Monarch  (734)    1.5625  Favori  1st   (711) 390625 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE    SHOWRING 


597 


TABLE  IV. — ^W^NNERS  AT  THE  1904  SHOW. 


Class    1. — ■Stallions. 
ELECTEUR   412G4    (462G4). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1899    (755)... 12.5 
Brilliant  1271    (756)... 12.5 

Coco    2d    (714) 6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 3.90625 

Class    2. — Stallions. 
VICTOR  HUGO    (52791). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271  (756)  .  .20.3125 
Brilliant  1899    (755)  ..  15.625 

Favori   1st    (711) 9.765G25 

Coco    2d    (714) 6.G40625 

Class    3. — Stallions. 

CHICHI    (54591). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271  (756)  ..  10.4375 
Brilliant  1899    (755)..    9.375 

Coco  2d  (714) 5.46875 

Favori   1st    (711) 3.515625 

French  Monarch   (734)    1.5625 


Class  1. — Mares. 

ROSETTE   52054    (48054). 

Percent 

Brilliant   1271    (756) 9.375 

French    Monarch    (734)..    9.375 

Brilliant  1899    (755) 6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 6.25 

Coco    2d    (714) 3.125 

Class  2. — Mares. 

DOCILE   (35823). 
See  Table  I. 

Class    3. — Mares, 
BLANCHETTE    (51576). 


Brilliant  1271    (756)  .  . 

Coco    2d    (714) 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .  . 

Favori   1st    (711) 

Class   4. — Mares. 
XERES    (54751). 

Brilliant  1271    (756)  .  .: 
Brilliant   1899    (755)  .  . 

Favori   1st    (711) 

Coco  2d  (714) 


Percent 
4.6875 
3.515625 
3.125 
1.953125 


Percent 
:4.21875 
7.8125 
4.296875 
2.34375 


TABLE  v.— WINNERS  AT  THE   1905   SHOW. 


Class    1. — Stallions. 

RAVISSANTE    (46514). 

Percent 
Brilliant    1899     (755)..  12. 5 
Brilliant    1271     (756)...    6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 5.46875 

Coco    2d    (714) 3.125 


Class 
FLAMBART 


2. — Stallions. 
(54628). 


Percent 

Brilliant    1271     (756) 15.625 

Champeaux    (734) 6.25 

Brilliant  1899    (75) 3.125 

Favori    1st     (711) 3.125 

Coco     2d     (714) 3.125 

Class    3. — Stallions. 

MONACO  45896    (58631). 

Percent 
Brilliant    1899     (755)...    9.375 

Favori   1st    (711) 9.375 

Coco    2d    (714) 9.375 

Brilliant  1271    (756) 9.375 


Class   1. — Mares. 
FOS'SETTE    46039     (45225). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271    (756)  ...  10.9375 

Favori    1st    (711) 10.15625 

Brilliant  1899    (755)...    9.375 

Coco    2d    (714) 6.25 

French    Monarch    (734)    3.125 

Class  2. — Mares. 

PAQUERETTE    (48593). 

Percent 

French   Monarch    (734).  C.25 

Brilliant    1271     (756)...  4.6875 

Brilliant    1899     (755)...  3.125 

Favori    1st     (711) 3.125 

Coco   2d    (714) 1.5625 

Class  3. — Mares. 
XIMENES    (55074). 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .14 
Brilliant  1271    (756)  .    9 

Favori   1st    (711) 6 

Coco    2d    (714) 2 

Class  4. — Mares. 
LISETTE    85118    (58368). 

Brilliant    1271     (756),. 

Brilliant   1899    (75) 

Favori  1st    (711) 


Percent 
.0625 
.375 

.8359375 
.34375 


Percent 
4.6875 
,    6.25 
,    6.25 


598 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 


TABLE  VI. — WINNERS  AT  THE  1906  SHOW. 


Class    1. — Stallions. 

BIBI    95697    (52612). 

Percent 

Brilliant    1271     (756)  .  .10.9375 

Favori   1st   (711) 9.375 

Coco    2d    (714) 8.59375 

Brilliant    1899     (755)..    6.25 

Class    2. — Stallions. 

DIMITRI    (58251). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1271    (756)  ..  14.84375 

Favori   1st    (711) 12.109375 

Brilliant   1899    (755)  ..  10.9375 

Coco    2d    (714) 78125 

Class    3. — Stallions. 

GUERIDON     (64253). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .  .15.625 

Brilliant  1271    (756)  .  .11.71875 

Favori  1st   (711) 6.640625 

Coco    2d    (714) 2.34375 


Class  1. — Mares. 

MARTHA    (43811). 

Percent 

Brilliant    1271     (756)..    3.125 

Favori  1st   (711) 2.34375 

Class  2. — Mares. 

BICHE    (50061). 

Percent 

Champeaux     (734) 12.5 

Brilliant    1271     (756)..    9.375 

Favori   1st    (711) 7.03125 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .  .  .    6.25 

Coco   2d    (714) 1.5625 

Class  3. — Mares. 
DEMOISELLE  46228    (58468). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271  (756)  .  .22.65625 
Brilliant  1899    (755)  .  .20.3125 

Favori    1st    (711) 8.54375 

Coco    2d    (714) 6.640625 

Class  4. — Mares. 
ETONNANTE    46233     (63090). 

Percent 
Brilliant   1899    (755).. 18. 75 
Brilliant  1271    (756) ..  17.1875 

Coco    2d    (714) 9.765825 

Favori  1st    (711) 9.375 


TABLE  VII.— WINNERS  AT  THE   1907    SHOW. 


Class    1. — Stallions. 

COCO   83035    (60171). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1271    (756)  .  .    6.25 

Coco   2d    (714) 1.171875 

Class    2. — Stallions. 

MYLORD    54216    (64236). 

Percent 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .  .21.875 

Brilliant   1271    (756)  ..  15.625 

Favori   1st    (711) 9.765625 

Coco    2d    (714) 2.34375 

•  Class  3. — Stallions. 

AVOCAT    (66303). 

Percent 

Favori  1st    (711) 7.2265625 

Coco    2d    (714) 4.296875 

French  Monarch  (734)  1.5625 

Brilliant    1899     (755)  1.5625 

•     Brilliant    1271     (756)  1.5625 


Class  1. — Mares. 
BICHE    (50061). 
See   Table   VI. 

Class  2. — ^Mares. 
ROSETTE    52054    (4S054) 
See  Table  IV. 

Class  3. — Mares. 
COQUETTE    (69196). 

Favori    1st     (711) 

Coco    2d    (714) 

Brilliant  1271    (756)  .  . 
Class  4. — Mares. 
MIRZA   51S79    (67199). 

Brilliant  1271    (756).  .1 
Brilliant   1899    (755)  .  . 

Favori   1st    (711) 

Coco    2d    (714) 

French  Monarch  (734) 


Percent 
7.421875 
2.34375 
1.562.5 


Percent 
4.625 
9.375 
6.640625 
6.640625 
5.46875 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE   SHOWRING 


599 


TABLE  VIII. — WINNERS  AT  THE  1908   SHOW. 

Class  1. — Stallions.  Class  2. — Mares. 

ETUDIANT  70802    (59291).  XANTHOUETTE    (55429). 

Percent  Percent 

Brilliant   1899    (755)  .  10.9375  Favori   1st    (711) 8.59375 

Brilliant  1271    (756).    8.59375  CTiampeaux    (734) 6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 4.4921875  Brilliant    1899     (755)..    3.125 

Coco    2d    (714) 1.953125  Brilliant   1271    (756)...    3.125 

Class  2.— Stallions.  Coco   2d    (714) 1.5625 

AVOCAT    (66303).  Class  3.— Mares. 

See  Table  VIL  LEVRETTE    (68225). 

GREN^I^''^fi^50).     ^  ^^^^\,^]'.:    tW 

?fcrdor'lst^r73^0i  •  •    tlT''  ^^  Moni;Ji\-73i)-    ?:953125 

cocondml;'''!::  2:5390625  ^-^  Y,\i'''''--  'ill' 

Brilliant  1271    (756).    2.34375  ^°^^    -^    ^^^^^ ^^^^^5 

Brilliant    1899     (755)    1.625  Class  4.— Mares. 

French  Monarch  (734)  1.625  GAULOIS  55284   (75180). 

Class  1.— Mares.  Percent 

MAUDE    (51487).  Brijliant  1271      756    .    7.8125 

Percent  Brilliant   1899    (755).    6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 10.15625  Favori   1st    (711) 5.6640625 

Brilliant  1271    (756)...    3.125  French  Monarch  (734)   4.6875 

Coco    2d    (714) 78125  Coco    2d    (714) 3.515625 

TABLE   IX.— WINNERS  AT   THE   1909   SHOW. 

Class  1. — Stallions.  Class  1. — Mares. 

ETUDIANT    (70802)     (59291).  HERMINE    61987    (^4197).^^^^^^^ 

See  Table  VIIL  Brilliant  1271    (756)  .25.78125 

Class   2— Stallions  ^^''°''^    ^^^    (711)....    9.1796875 

i^iass  z.     btamons.  Brilliant    1899     (755)    7.8125 

GALOP    (69888).  Coco    2d    (714) 1.953125 

Percent  French  Monarch  (734)     .78125 

Brilliant  1899    (755)  .    3.90625  ^^^^^  2.-Mares. 

Coco    2d    014)                 ^.51o62o  q^uLOIS    61979    (75176). 

Favori    1st    (711)....    3.3203125  Percent 

Brilliant  1271    (756).    2.34375  Brilliant  1271    (756)  .10.9375 

Picador  1st    (7330)..    1.5625  Brilliant  1899    (755).    6.25 

Favori   1st    (711) 5.078125 

Class   3. — Stallions.  Coco    2d    (714) 4.1015625 

HONORABLE  64381   (74813).  Picador  1st    (7330)..    3.125 

Percent  Champeax    (734) 3.125 

Favori   1st   (711)...    6.73828125  Class  3. — Mares. 

Brilliant   1271    (756)    6.25  ERICA    (68318). 

French  Monarch  .                                             Percent 

(734) 5.46875  Brilliant   1271    (756)..    4.6875 

Brilliant  1899    (755)    4.6875  Favori   1st    (711) 3.125 

n^nn    9rl     fTTd.^               I7r:7ci9r  Brilliant   1899    (755)..    1.5625 

Coco    2d    (714) 1.75-8125  ^^^^    ^d    (714) 78125 

French  Monarch  (734)      .390625 
Class  4. — Mares. 
DOCILE   (69234) 

Percent 
Picador  1st    (7330) 6.25 


600 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 


TABLE   X. — WINNERS   AT    THE    1910    SHOW. 


Class  1. — Stallions. 

FIER-A-BRAS    (65250). 

Percent 

Coco  2d  (714) 8.0478125 

Brilliant  1271    (756).    5.45425 
Brilliant   1899    (755).    4.6875 
Favori  1st   (711) 4.296875 

Class  2. — ^Stallions. 
HELIX  70340    (75752). 

Percent 

Favoiri   1st    (711) 6.640625 

Brilliant   1899    (755)..    5.46875 
Brilliant   1271    (756)..    3.125 
Coco    2d    (714) 78125 

Class  3. — Stallions. 

INCOMPRISS  78960    (79751). 

Percent 

Coco  2d   (714) 7.8125 

Favori    1st    (711) 6.4453125 

Brilliant   1271    (756).    3.90625 
French  Monarch  (734)   3.515625 
Brilliant  1899    (755).    3.125 
Class  1. — Mares. 

INFRANCHISSABLE    70267 
(82233). 


Picador  1st  (7330)  . 
Brilliant  1271  (756) 
Favori  1st  (711)  ..  . 
Brilliant  1899    (755) 


Percent 
6.25 

3.515625 
2.9296875 
2.34375 


Coco  2d  (714) 78125 


Class  2. — Mares. 
HOCHETTE    70479    (75519). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1271    (756)    8.59375 
Brilliant  1899    (755)    7. 8125 

Coco   2d    (714) 7.03125 

Favori  1st    (711)...    5.46875 
French  Monarch 

(734) 73446875 

Class  3. — Mares. 

FAVORITE  70281    (87784). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1899    (755)  .17.1875 

Coco  2d  (714) 10.7421875 

B,rilliant  1271    (756).    9.375 
Favori  1st   (711) 7.03125 

Class  4. — Mares. 

ALISE  79311   (58009). 

Percent 
Brilliant  1899    (755)    7.8125 
Brilliant  1271    (756)    7.8125 

French  Monarch 

(734) 7.8125 

Favori   1st    (711)...    6.4453125 

Coco    2d    (714) 1.97265625 


Breeding    of    International    Prizewinners. — The 

bree(iing  of  tlie  imported  horses  that  appear  as  prize- 
winners at  the  International  Live  Stock  Exposition 
from  1900  to  1910  inclusive  corresponds  so  closely 
to  the  French  records  just  discussed  as  to  require 
no  further  comment.  An  analysis  has  been  made, 
however,  of  the  breeding  of  all  American-bred  horses 
winning  prizes  at  these  International  shows,  and  as 
a  matter  of  interest  the  sires,  grandsires,  and  great- 
grandsires  appearing  two  or  more  times  in  the  pedi- 
grees of  the  winners  are  given,  with  the  number  of 
prizes  won  by  descendants.  It  will  be  noted  that 
the  ranking  sire  is  by  the  ranking  grandsire,  and  he 
by  the  ranking  great-grandsire,  and  that  the  second 


JAI.AP  80683  (85614)— CHAMPION  AT  1915  IOWA  SPRING  STAX-LION  SHOW; 
PROGENY  WON  GBT-OF-SIRE  PRIZE  AT  PANAMA-PACIFIC  INTERNATIONAL 
EXPOSITION.    1915. 


BLOODLINES   IN   THE   SHOWRING 


601 


highest  sire  of  winners  is  by  the  second  highest 
grandsire.  Here  the  consistency  ends,  however,  as 
Marathon  is  the  second  highest  great-grandsire,  but 
is  not  the  sire  of  Highland  Chief. 


Prizes  won  by 
American-bred 
Sires  descendants 

Calypso  25017    (44577) 38 

Superior    40605    15 

Salvanos   10827    (20922) 12 

Rhum   Jr.    21627 9 

Cadmus   2162    (929) 8 

Boer   24267    (44611) 7 

Aride    25056    (45424) 7 

Villers    13169     (8081) 6 

Picador   27370    (48373) G 

Olbert    42815    (53109) 5 

Brunelles    11415    (12162) 5 

Volage  48578   (55179) 5 

King  of  Highland  16341 5 

Ali  20012 5 

Putnam   23211    5 

Pink  24765    (47513) 4 

Constantin   35228    (48890) 4 

Hercules   21564    3 

Morse    22714     (40383) 3 

Saphir   32S34    (46498) 3 

Lamy   46057    (56473) 3 

Brilliant   1271    (755) 2 

Fils  de  Jupiter  11413   (9992)..  2 

Sansonnet  4300   (1990) 2 

La  Grange  20372 2 

Invincible    22715     (38107) 2 

Highland   Monarch    40607 2 

Soldat    31084    (47533) 2 

Hyacinthe    26723    (48386) 2 

Kimberly    25726    (44616) 2 

Villageois  27423    (44898) 2 

Kabyle    24761    (44167) 2 

Artiste    31529     (47528) 2 

Paquebot    35048    (47609) 2 

Armor    46682    2 

Pusso  45802   (61861) 2 

Brocanteur  30393   (51632) 2 

Breslie    43904    (59812) 2 

Grandsires 

Theudis   25015    (40871) 40 

Highland   Chief    23744 15 

Fernando    (34038)    14 

Grevin  6846    (6892) 12 

Rhum  11288   (13173) 9 

Victoria    24449    (42905) 9 

Brilliant   1271    (755) 8 

Besigue    (19602)    8 

Dominant   5146    (2017) 6 

Briard   5317    (1630) 6 

Brutus   (34789)    6 

Aiglon   13145    (8187) 5 

Scheret   8948    (15793) 5 

Han  Brion   10708    (19918) 5 

Blande    29259     (36577) 5 

Artilleur  27348   (46769) 5 


Prizes  won  by 
American-bred 
Grandsires  descendants 

Orpin   24388    (43279)... 4 

Confident    3647    (397) 3 

Mirabeau  (34778)    3 

Napolitain    22882    (43046) 3 

Charlemagne  22713   (40167)...  3 

Brilliant   1899    (756) 2 

Jupiter    4301    (2243) 2 

Sultan    (4713)    2 

Producteur    1st    (7657) 2 

Porthos   6823    (10594) 2 

Parfait   3d   10727    (12939) 2 

Baccarat  11326   (18639) 2 

Black    Diamond    26279 2 

Myron    (20690)     2 

Beaudole     (34055)     2 

Diogene    (41294)     2 

Casino     40580     (46875) 2 

Raphael    25047    (43483) 2 

Olga   22736    (43283) 2 

Rivoli    33848     (46722) 2 

Rayon    D'Or     (44266) 2 

Great-grandsires 

Besigue    (19602)    • 52 

Marathon    (10386)    16 

Sensation    22544    15 

Brilliant     3d     (2919) 13 

Brilliant    1271    (755) 13 

La  Grange   3065    (1334) 12 

Chicago  6947    (7485) 9 

Bienfaisant    (1397)    6 

Monarque   5149    (242S) 6 

Brilliant   1899    (756) 6 

Germanicus    (7825)    6 

Gilbert  (461)    5 

King  of  Perche  4975    (6738)..    5 

Nev   (40287)    4 

Jules  (37987)    4 

Saint   Germain    6252    (4315)...    3 

Donon    (37397)     3 

Malakoff   15753    (29888) 3 

Rochambeau    (1382)    2 

Vaillant  (404)    2 

Coco    2d    (714) 2 

Jean  Bart  (716) 2 

Favora   1542    (765) 2 

Bavard  (9495)   2 

Cheri    6024    (6903) 2 

Fils  de  Jupiter  11413    (9992)..    2 

Parfait    3d    10727    (12939) 2 

Patache    (42261)     2 

Charlemagne  22713   (40167)...    2 

Mery  (29834)    2 

Paumier    (24581)    2 

Victoria  24449   (42905) 2 


602  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  PERCHERON  HORSE 

This  table  shows  the  rank  of  the  sires,  grandsires 
and  great-grandsires  of  the  American-bred  Perche- 
rons  winning  prizes  at  the  International  from  1900 
to  1910  inclusive.  Group  awards  are  not  included 
in  this  list.  This  calculation  takes  into  account 
every  sire,  grandsire  or  great-grandsire  that 
appeared  more  than  once  in  the  pedigree  of  an 
American-bred  International  winner  during  the  10 
years.  The  number  opposite  each  name  represents 
the  number  of  prizes  awarded  to  sons  or  daughters, 
grandsons  or  granddaughters,  or  great-grandsons  or 
great-granddaughters  of  the  stallion  in  question. 


7> 


^^p?^^  !^^B%  Libraffy  d  Velefiiniafr  Wfe^i^l^f^^ 


Tufts  University 
100  Wastboro  Road 
Grafton.  MA  01 5:-^ 


